THE mother of a nine year old girl who was operated on by an HIV positive doctor in Letterkenny said last night that she was "frightened and nervous" about the implications.
"I don't know how I feel really. Of course, you would be worried. I suppose you could say it is a little like the BSE. You just don't know what could happen," the Co Donegal woman told The Irish Times.
Her daughter had her appendix removed on September 27th but the parents only heard about the doctor on the radio yesterday morning. Later they received a letter from the North Western Health Board.
"The letter said not to be alarmed. The people from the freephone rang. You are not supposed to have a test until three months after.
"They said I could bring her in, though. And I think I will on Monday morning. They also offered counselling. They are very organised."
The woman said she did not know who the doctor was, and what his role was in the operation.
Her daughter is fully recovered and back at school.
"The doctor probably did not know himself until he fell ill. But I can't understand why he did a runner," said the woman, who did not wish to be identified.
She would have preferred to find out about the doctor from the hospital, rather than through the media.
"Bout I can't blame the hospital. They had thousands of files to go through and that can't be done in 24 hours. I think people might have the whole thing out of proportion."
The woman, who lives just outside Letterkenny, said her husband had tried to explain to their daughter about what had happened. "But she is too young really. He was telling her about the doctor and surgery and how AIDS is transmitted through sex and drug use, but she just asked him "What's sex, Daddy?"
Another Co Donegal man who had surgery in Letterkenny General Hospital in October said he was not concerned about contracting HIV, although he would go for the test as advised by the hospital.