An English health authority that has not contacted former patients of an HIV positive dentist nearly a year after it learned of his HIV status won an appeal court ruling last week barring the media from identifying it.

No decision has yet been taken on whether to get in touch with patients of the dentist, who has now developed AIDS and offer them HIV testing. Official guidelines under which patients of HIV positive health workers who perform invasive procedures are contacted and offered counselling and testing are about to be superseded by new guidance, but not until mid-March at the earliest.

Three appeal court judges, headed by the master of the rolls, Lord Phillips, set aside a ban on identifying the man's specialty but overturned a High Court ruling allowing the Mail on …