AIDS Update: HTLV-III Testing, Immune Globulins and Employees with AIDS

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Abstract
As we have become experienced in dealing with AIDS, we have learned that early concern over employees who refuse to care for patients with AIDS was merely the tip of the iceberg from the infection control standpoint. During the past 5 years, additional questions and concerns have been raised regarding employee health and AIDS. An interesting body of literature has emerged recently that discusses many of these current employee health issues. Some of these questions have been answered in major communications in The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Lancet. Many other topics have been covered in short communications in letters to the editor in these same journals and in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). When taken together, this writing presents a very clear picture of what is happening with AIDS in the health care arena. It is obvious that most of the concerns regarding AIDS in health care settings can be answered by taking a close look at the available epidemiologic data. It is important to remember that the decision-making process related to AIDS is easier if we try to separate the emotional issues surrounding the disease from the scientific data available.