Florida: Inquiry Finds No Leaks of HIV E-Mail

Officials have determined that a list identifying 6,500 Palm Beach County residents with HIV, which was mistakenly e-mailed to more than 800 health department employees, did not circulate beyond the department. "We have conducted an exhaustive internal investigation, and we found no evidence at all that this e-mail or this list went outside the department," Dr. Jean Malecki, health department director, said Monday.

Health department statistician John. W. "Jack" Nolan inadvertently attached the list to his monthly e-mail of HIV/AIDS statistics on Feb. 17. Within about five minutes, he realized his mistake and recalled the e-mail. Nolan assisted Malecki in tracking down the 16 department employees who appeared to have opened the e-mail while it was in the system.

Malecki said one patient's mother called her to express concern: "She said her daughter is healthy but had lost several jobs in the past when people found out she was HIV-positive, and she was very concerned that the names were going to get out. I assured her they would not." As a result of the incident, the department has adopted additional safeguards to protect not only the identities of HIV/AIDS patients, but also others with reportable communicable diseases, Malecki said.

Tony Plakas, a former HIV specialist with CDC's National AIDS Clearinghouse who is now executive director of the Palm Beach County gay and lesbian advocacy group COMPASS, said, "This actually touched off a constructive dialog about people's insecurities about seeking treatment for AIDS and testing for HIV. People are now assured that their health information is secure."

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