Dr. David Acer was a quiet, unassuming Florida dentist in the 1980s. Then several of his patients became infected with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Four of them would eventually die from the disease, including a patient named Kimberly Bergalis. Suddenly, a cloud of hysteria and phobia began to swirl around Dr. Acer. Did he infect his patients on purpose? Was it a crime? Was it an accident? Or was the idea that a healthcare provider could even infect a patient with AIDS all nonsense? A Study in Crime speaks with health science writer Courtney Southwick, MS, in the first episode of a new podcast.

Courtney Southwick is a freelance health science writer and the owner of Courtney Southwick Freelance, LLC. She reports on new scientific studies in health and fitness and writes articles covering various health and disease topics for her clients. She ghostwrites blogs and web copy for health technology companies and medical clinics and regularly contributes to several online publications. Her clients include WebMD, Livestrong, Medscape, Health Central, and others. She holds a Master of Science in Health Science from the University of Texas at Tyler and a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from the University of Utah.

Find her here: Website, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

NOTES:  This episode contains subject matter that may be inappropriate for some audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

If you or someone you know is HIV positive or suffering from AIDS, call the CDC’s national health information hotline at 1(800) 232-4636, or the U.S. Health and Human Service at 1 (800) 448-0440 for more information.

Sources:

Hooper, Edward. The River: A Journey Back to the Source of HIV and AIDS. Harmondsworth: Little, Brown and Company, 1999.

Nsikan Akpan, “America’s HIV outbreak started in this city, 10 years before anyone noticed,” PBS Newshour, October 26, 2016, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/america-hiv-outbreak-origins-nyc-gaetan-dugas#:~:text=HIV%20arrived%20in%20New%20York,to%20be%20noticed%20by%20doctors.

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A Study in Crime™ is written and produced by private investigator Scott Fulmer. He is the author of the true-crime memoir, Confessions of a Private Eye, and a decorated Gulf War veteran. A nationally known private eye, he has conducted investigations throughout the U.S.; everything from fraud, theft, and cheating spouses, to murder, kidnapping, and missing persons. Scott lives in the Texas hill country near San Antonio. 

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