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Torah prohibition of not putting a stumbling block before a blind did not become infected. Research shows that the annual infection
man. What am I to do? rate of a woman depends on how the man became infected. For
A patient recently came to the hospital to undergo testing to deter- wives of hemophiliacs who are carriers of AIDS, the annual rate of
mine whether he had contracted AIDS as a result of his sins. When infection, for different sequences, varies between 9% and 20%. For
the results came in, he told the medical staff that his intent is to infect wives of non-hemophiliac men who were infected by tainted blood
as many people as he can, the same way he was infected. He called his or blood products, the annual rate of infection is between 14.8-19.7%.
wicked plan an act of “revenge” for what had been done to him. Are In women who were infected from men who themselves were infect-
these threats sufficient reason to publicize his name? ed from intravenous drug injections, the annual rate of infection is
between 47.8-50%. These statistics support the hypothesis that the
1 AnsweR to Question 3 annual rates of infection are influenced by various causes, such as the
characteristics of the virus specific to that patient, and the condition
Let us first rule on the third question. Does one need to take the of the person who infected them.
patient’s terrible plans for revenge seriously? A mother who carries the virus can infect her baby while still in
We find the following story in the Avnei Shayish by Rav S. Y. the womb, during the birth, or following the birth - by breastfeeding.
Schein, zt”l (p. 117): Rav Schein’s father, Rav Hillel Gavriel, zt”l, once Studies done in the United States, in Europe and in Africa show that
dealt with the case of a wicked thief who was sentenced to twenty the percentage of infected newborns is between 25% and 40%. In this
years of imprisonment. After one year, Rav Schein relates, the thief situation as well, the weaker the mother’s own immune system is, the
escaped and fled to his house, and my father forcibly took from him greater the chance of infecting the newborn.
the money that he owed us. He was hiding out during the day and the [2] The second question refers to an AIDS carrier who is about to
authorities did not know his hiding place. This criminal once attacked be treated by a dentist, and does not plan on informing the dentist
my father and struck him brutally. He also threatened to burn down that he carries the virus.
our house and kill us in revenge. We were terrified for our lives. Had An AIDS patient or even an AIDS carrier without clinical symp-
my father even hinted to the authorities where the man was hiding, toms can infect his dentist, if he gets a cut in his mouth during treat-
he could have been rid of him and would have been spared the terri- ment, and his blood comes in contact with a wound or a cut on the
ble fear. dentist’s hands. Even if the dentist has no open wound on his hands
My father did not do so, but traveled to Russia to ask the great there is still the theoretical possibility, although very unlikely, that the
Rav Alexander Moshe Lapidos, zt”l, whether it is permissible to hand blood of the patient will infect the dentist through the skin, or the
the thief over to the government. Rav Lapidos did not permit him to membranes of the dentist’s eyes. Therefore, dentists must be careful
do so because of “what a person threatens he may not carry out.” Al- to abide by the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, which
though there was ample room to suspect that he would carry out his include wearing gloves.
threat, my father did not hand him over. To our surprise and joy, on An affected dentist can infect his patients, as occurred in the Unit-
that very day, his hiding place became known through others and the ed States, where five patients were infected by a virus-carrying dentist.
authorities caught him and sent him back to prison, where he died. Moreover, a healthy dentist can transfer the virus from a sick patient
The words of the Avnei Shayish are based on what it says in ma- to a healthy one if he does not sterilize his instruments properly.
seches Shevuos (46a): If a person takes an axe in his hand and says, “I Theoretically, if a dentist follows all these precautions, he will not
360 1 Medical-HalacHic Responsa of Rav ZilbeRstein Sinner contracted contagious disease 2 365
