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Beginning in 2014, HIV-infected
dentists, doctors, and midwives with undetectable viral loads will be allowed
to perform any procedure on patients, according to UK Chief Medical Officer
Dame Sally Davies. The policy change stemmed from the success of modern
combination drug therapy, which could reduce HIV levels so that the virus was
not transmissible. A working group commissioned in 2007 to study UK rules
recommended in 2011 that the government update its policy.
In 1993, the United Kingdom banned
HIV-infected doctors, nurses, and dentists from performing any treatments
inside patients where the fingertips were not visible. The restriction
automatically ended the careers of HIV-infected dentists, and altered the
medical practice of HIV-infected surgeons and nurses.
The UK’s new policy would require
HIV-infected healthcare workers to register and visit their doctors every three
months to ensure their viral load remained undetectable and that they were
taking appropriate anti-HIV medications. Davies estimated that 110 National
Health Service (NHS) workers currently had HIV, but she noted that others might
have avoided testing for fear of losing their careers and livelihoods. Allan
Reid, a former dentist who left his profession after a 2007 HIV diagnosis, urged
the NHS to support retraining for HIV-infected healthcare workers who had lost
their jobs under earlier restrictions.
Davies stated that UK residents
should update their attitudes about HIV. Whereas HIV was a “death sentence” in
the epidemic’s early days, HIV-infected people on drug treatment could
anticipate normal life expectancies and good quality of life. National AIDS
Trust spokesperson and advisory group member Deborah Jack noted that the new
policy offered an opportunity to increase awareness among people who learned
about HIV in the 1980s and younger people who knew little about HIV.
Only four other countries in the
world still restrict the practice of HIV-infected health professionals.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus.
To learn more about The Friends of
AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
