Background
The eldest of three daughters, Bergalis was born in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania before her family moved to Florida in 1978. In 1985, she enrolled at the University of Florida and majored in business. While attending college, she had two serious boyfriends. She told reporters and Florida health officials in 1990 that she was a virgin who had never taken IV drugs or received a blood transfusion.
In December 1987, dentist Dr. David Acer removed two of Bergalis's molars. Acer was HIV-positive at the time, having been diagnosed that fall. In March 1989 Bergalis began to show symptoms of AIDS and was diagnosed with the disease in January 1990. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initial report that she had likely acquired her infection from her dentist prompted Acer to write an open letter requesting that his patients be tested for HIV infection. The Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services tested over 1000 patients, discovering two additional HIV-positive patients. The CDC would eventually identify a total of ten HIV-positive former Acer patients, and link the infections of six to their dentist.
Read more about this topic: Kimberly Bergalis
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