"The alleged “Patient Zero” of the American AIDS epidemic — a French Canadian flight attendant named GaĆ©tan Dugas, who died of AIDS in 1984 — was exonerated last week. Genetic sequencing of blood samples stored since the 1970s showed that the strain infecting him had circulated among gay men in New York for several years before he arrived here in 1974... Decisions about whether to find index patients, to release details like age or race or sexual or hygiene habits, and ultimately whether to name them, “are all about the need to know,” Dr. Darrow said. “You weigh the potential harm against the potential benefit.”"
Ethically-tangled aspects of 21st century societies and cultures. In the vein of Charles Darwin’s 1859 “entangled bank” metaphor—a complex and evolving digital ecosystem of difference and dependence, where humans, technologies, ethics, law, policy, data, and information converge and diverge. Kip Currier, PhD, JD
Showing posts with label weighing potential harm against potential benefit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weighing potential harm against potential benefit. Show all posts
Sunday, October 30, 2016
The Ethics of Hunting Down ‘Patient Zero’; New York Times, 10/29/16
Donald G. McNeil Jr., New York Times; The Ethics of Hunting Down ‘Patient Zero’ :
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