Where are the origins of the aids epidemic

Where are the origins of the aids epidemic. Oct 12, 2021 · Finding a cure. HIV had spread initially among the region's injecting drug users, but quickly became an infection of young sexually active men and women—with devastating consequences for Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Jul 13, 2023 · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an infection that attacks the body’s immune system. Part of History The people’s health, c. Oct 20, 2022 · The 1980s AIDS Crisis. Compared with 2010 estimates, overall HIV incidence in 2019 decreased by 23% and mortality by 37%. She added that lesbians started taking on more leadership roles within the LGBT community. Method We used the PUBMED database to a conduct Mar 19, 2024 · The 2014 Ebola epidemic fits the same description, including as described by Alex de Waal and Alan Whiteside, the epidemic as the first ‘”new variant famine” shaped by young adult deaths and the "Aids-poor" households they had left behind’ (p. 7 million became newly infected, and 690,000 died with HIV disease ( 11 ). An overarching policy known as "ABC", which consisted of abstinence, monogamy, and condoms, was set up with the aim of helping to curb the spread of AIDS in Uganda, where HIV infections reached epidemic proportions in the 1980s. Engel seamlessly weaves together science, politics, and culture, writing with an even hand—noting the excesses of the more radical edges of the ACT UP Montagnier has wisely cautioned that it is extremely important to distinguish between the ancestral origin of HIV and the actual beginning of the AIDS epidemic. As we look back on LGBTQ history this month, it’s important to recognize the impact the HIV/AIDS epidemic has made on the community. 122), and in the case of Ebola the collapse of agriculture and market access. In the fall of 1986, Brian Howard, Jorge Socarrás, Charles Kreloff, Avram Finkelstein, Chris Lione, and Oliver Johnston (d. Although the continent is home to about 15. The term "AIDS" is officially coined in September 1982 by the CDC. Moreover, the places where the vaccine trials occurred are the same places where HIV-1 and AIDS first emerged a few years later. has supported a world safer and more secure Oct 28, 2021 · The fight against HIV/AIDS, for example, is one of those instances. AIDS rates varies significantly between countries, with the majority of cases concentrated in Southern Africa. Jul 23, 2014 · Kasensero: Origin of the AIDS epidemic. In this compelling book, Nicoli Nattrass explores the social and political factors prolonging the erroneous belief that the American government manufactured the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to be used as a biological weapon, as well as the myth's The HIV/AIDS pandemic has so far caused about 35 million deaths, while 34 million individuals currently live with HIV. Timeline. For many years, Gaétan Dugas was presumed patient 36. Then doctors discovered the virus. The best films about HIV serve as a historical record of the AIDS crisis from the earliest days. As discussed below, the epidemic is another May 18, 2021 · In 1987, Duesberg's denialism went semi-mainstream. Inspired by his own experiences working as an infectious diseases physician in Africa, Jacques Pepin looks back to the early twentieth-century events in Africa that triggered the emergence of HIV/AIDS and traces its subsequent development into the most dramatic and destructive epidemic Jul 20, 2018 · The Global HIV/AIDS Timeline is an ongoing reference tool for the many political, scientific, cultural, and community developments that have occurred over the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. 2% in the mid-1990s. Everett Koop issued the Surgeon General’s Report on AIDS. What the report didn’t include was two other Nov 15, 2023 · U. Some 20 million people have died of the disease since 1981. org, as of October 2021 Haiti has turned the tide on its HIV epidemic. When the first AIDS epidemic broke out in 1982 in the Ugandan fishing village of Kasensero, it was blamed on witchcraft. The dramatic saga of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) features an early sense of helplessness and frustration in the face of a mysterious new Sep 16, 2021 · Aids: the epidemic that changed Britain. Recent findings: The HIV infection epidemic in China has evolved significantly over the past 35 years, from initially exclusively within people who inject drugs (PWID), to outbreaks due to plasma collection contamination in the mid-1990s, to now almost exclusive The OPV in question was a live, attenuated vaccine and was thus not denatured in any way; it was given to nearly a million Africans, but not to “Europeans”. From the Castro bathhouses to AZT and the denial of AIDS in South Africa, this sweeping look at AIDS covers the epidemic from all angles and across the world. Nov 1, 1987 · Shilts has dug deep into the history of the AIDs crisis: from its very early origins in Africa, being passed around by a lack of medical hygiene, to the bath houses of New York and San Francisco. This delay had devastating mortality, morbidity, and Oct 15, 2018 · A government report from August 2016 found that between the start of the AIDS epidemic and today, nearly 700,000 people have died of AIDS in the U. 1 million people in America are living with HIV. His first book, To Make the Wounded Whole: African American Responses to HIV/AIDS (University of North Carolina Press, 2020), examined the diverse ways that black communities have responded to the HIV/AIDS epidemic over the last thirty-five years, and was a finalist for the Museum of Dec 31, 2000 · Of these, 79% were men, 61% were black or Hispanic, and 41% were infected through male-to-male sex. Ruth Kirschstein, who worked for many years in biologics but was at this time was the director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), helped to mobilize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) efforts to study the virus and develop and test drugs to combat this new public health threat in spite of political Feb 23, 2024 · By Joan Ilacqua, December 4, 2018. Sullivan, the Secretary GyroProtagonist. And a year later, there was a big scientific summit Feb 7, 2022 · Dan Royles. The disease has reached pandemic proportion and has been considered a public health concern. These films also eerily echo many of the Oct 9, 2015 · But things "changed seriously" in the 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic hit. AIDS incidence increased rapidly through the 1980s, peaked in the early 1990s, and then declined ( Figure 1 ). 0 million] people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 40. founder, who died from AIDS on May 25, 1998. HIV testing of African immigrants in Belgium showed that HIV existed among Africans by 1983. “Africa had the worst AIDS epidemic,” Iliffe writes, “because it had the first epidemic established in the general population before anyone knew the disease existed” (1). fell by nearly half from 2010 to 2017. m. Friends and lovers were dying, the public was largely apathetic, and the government was mismanaging the crisis. THE 'GAY PLAGUE' Jan 21, 2021 · Description: This book is a geographical medical history of the AIDS epidemic, from its origin in Africa, to the Caribbean, and eventually worldwide. During the emerging AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, Dr. [2] However, evidence suggests that the spread of the virus may have occurred earlier. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for some 70 percent of all HIV infections. But with proper medical care, HIV can be controlled. Surgeon General C. HIV and AIDS. Fauci’s response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s was first widely criticized by LGBTQIA+ activists. Government’s response to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and represents the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history. An international team of scientists say a HIV / AIDS originated in the early 20th century and has become a major public health concern and cause of death in many countries. This retrovirus is termed human immunodeficiency virus or HIV (formerly known as T-lymphotrophic virus type III, lymphadenopathy Jun 13, 2023 · The origin of AIDS was originally unknown, as was that of HIV. Jul 27, 2011 · The Origins of AIDS, naturally, takes a look at the ultimate origins of AIDS, as a virus that somehow managed to cross over from the chimpanzee populations of west-central Africa a century ago to that region's human population, eventually exploding into a general epidemic. 3 million] people have died of HIV. June 5, 2021 marks 40 years since the first official reporting, in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), of five cases describing what later became known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and what is now HIV Stage III. Dec 4, 2013 · In 1982, Michael Callen and Richard Berkowitz, two gay men living with AIDS in New York City, published How to Have Sex in an Epidemic, which helped spread the idea that safe sex could be used as Oct 2, 2014 · The origin of the Aids pandemic has been traced to the 1920s in the city of Kinshasa, in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, scientists say. The epidemic in Africa is uneven, with the greatest burden in southern Africa, where It is now thirty years since the discovery of AIDS but its origins continue to puzzle doctors and scientists. Jan 1, 2006 · 3. Since the early days, when its surveillance was critical to laying the foundation for a public health response, CDC has provided surveillance, innovative science, and guidance to partners to understand, prevent, and Aug 9, 2017 · The tragic history of HIV/AIDS is a subject that everybody should read up on. They also offer insights into what living with HIV means at different times, in different cultures, and to those who witness the disease from the outside. During the initial discovery of AIDS, it was commonly referred to as GRID (Gay-Related Autoimmune Disease), which worked to create early and Jun 2, 2021 · The protesters mourned the death of Michael, ACT UP's Washington, D. AIDS is caused by a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which originated in non-human primates in Central and West Africa. Mar 5, 2024 · Federal Response to AIDS by United States Call Number: Online - free - HathiTrust Hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, first session, August 1 and 2, 1983. The current study is nice supporting evidence, but the "full" origin story is extremely interesting. The number of newly-diagnosed cases and the number Purpose of review: This study aims to review the history of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection epidemic in China. The CDC published a new study showing that the age-adjusted rate of HIV-related deaths among people with HIV in the U. 7 million people living with HIV; since the start of the epidemic around 78 million have become infected with HIV — and the financial and social costs are staggering. 2017. This report marked the beginning of public knowledge about the AIDS epidemic. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is a fatal disease caused by infection by a virus that damages the immune system, resulting in loss of protection against many infectious diseases and some cancers. 0 million [33. Worobey, M. This study is aimed at analyzing the trend of HIV/AIDS research in Nigeria. 1 History of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with emphasis on Africa. 0–113. Jul 6, 2017 · Dan Royles. January 2015. On this 40th anniversary, we remember the more than 32 million people Abstract. By the “The AIDS epidemic is far from over, and it is crucial that we understand both the history and the myths of AIDS. (Peter Steffen/Getty/AFP) The common narrative holds that the spread of HIV and AIDS among humans can be traced back to one flight attendant in the 1980s. This timeline covers the highlights over the past three decades at UCSF, in the nation and around the world. Parents in his community feared he would expose their children to AIDS, resulting in Ryan being barred from attending school. However, the epidemic was recognized much later in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) due to stigma and perceived fear of possible negative consequences to the countries' economies. Janet Weston explores the Aids crisis as it unfolded throughout the 1980s, and how it transformed attitudes about everything from sexuality to healthcare. Editor's note: This timeline was updated on March 23, 2012. The animal virus ancestor of HIV may indeed be centuries old, but it is obvious that the epidemic itself is new. et al (2010) 'Island biogeography reveals the deep history of SIV' Science 329(5998):1487 Sharp, P. $62. In June 1981, the CDC published a report on five previously healthy young gay men diagnosed with KS/OI. The finding solves a 35-year-old By 2022, 76% of people living with HIV were accessing HIV treatment and 71% were virally suppressed meaning they were living healthier and longer lives and at almost zero risk of transmitting HIV to their partners. CDC has played an historic role in addressing the HIV epidemic in the United States and around the world. For South Africa, political turmoil and a long history of government denial fueled an epidemic that had reached disastrous proportions by the late 1990s and early 2000s. 1–45. Despite some clear examples of success, such as Senegal for prevention, and Uganda for control, major new measures are needed to avoid further devastation. Like few epidemics before it, AIDS was documented in print as it swept the U. Introduction The AIDS epidemic, one of the most significant public-health events of the late twentieth century, continues into the twenty-first. Lesbians felt it was "no time for animosity," and gay men realized "these are our sisters and we need to work with them," Faderman said. Forty years ago, the UK found itself in the grip of a virus that killed thousands of people and sparked fear, confusion and prejudice – HIV. But Jun 1, 2020 · How AIDS Remained an Unspoken—But Deadly—Epidemic for Years. HIV prevalence among adults is now 1. Highest levels of conspiracy theories were found in women, and in African American and Latino The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that in 2019, 38 million persons worldwide were living with HIV, 1. He has provided a comprehensive, horrific history of the disease, its victims, and the uncaring government who allowed it to spread out of control. Of the AIDS cases, approximately one third were reported during 1981--1992, 1993--1995, and 1996--2000 ( Table 1 ). 1 History of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with emphasis on Africa In 1981, a new syndrome, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), was first recognized among homosexual men in the United States. It looks at the scientific, medical, and social aspects of the virus, tracing its origins from the early 20th century to the present day. Feb 6, 2006 · AIDS. 70. His first book, To Make the Wounded Whole: African American Responses to HIV/AIDS (University of North Carolina Press, 2020), examined the diverse ways that black communities have responded to the HIV/AIDS epidemic over the last thirty-five years, and was a finalist for the Museum of 1 a National Emergency Response Council on HIV and AIDS (NERCHA) , Mbabane , Swaziland. The epidemic of HIV/AIDS is unprecedented, having expanded from a new disease to the leading cause of death in Sub-Saharan Africa in just over two decades. 6 million [65. New York City Statistics: 186,917 cumulative AIDS diagnoses. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 85. This was the first recognized sign of what would become known as the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. (78) Only 2 left in stock (more on the way). Dec 21, 2022 · Background Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is an acquired defect of the cellular immunity associated with the infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The country is reported to hold one of the largest recorded numbers of cases in Sub-Saharan Africa. The HIV/AIDS epidemic remains one of the most critical health issues faced by some subgroups within the LGBT population in the United States, namely gay and bisexual men and transgender women. The author is an infectious disease specialist who worked in the field at the time of its emergence; thus, his history from below provides an integral perspective on the elements and events that Jun 6, 2011 · Thirty years into the fight against HIV/AIDS, UCSF has helped change the course of this deadly disease, which has claimed the lives of 33 million people worldwide. H. To help the "decimated" population of gay men HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. AIDS was first identified in the United States in 1981. A "mysterious" disease began silently spreading in a small village in Guinea on 26 December 2013 but was not identified as Ebola until 21 March 2014. Shortly after the first reports of AIDS in the United States in 1981 and the isolation of HIV-1 2 years later (3, 4), the disease was discovered to be established in heterosexual populations of central and east Africa (5, 6), suggesting a much Feb 27, 2012 · Timberg, the former Johannesburg bureau chief for The Washington Post, with his co-author Daniel Halperin, an AIDS expert currently at the University of North Carolina, explores the history of the Jun 7, 2021 · One day in June, 1990, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, I sat in the auditorium of San Francisco’s Moscone Center and watched as hundreds of activists pelted Louis W. 178 ratings26 reviews. Because of the asymptomatic spread of HIV, the long incubation period before disease, and transmission through sex and blood, millions of persons HIV and AIDS is a major public health issue in Zimbabwe. An estimated 0. Jun 1, 2021 · I was working in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on the severe HIV/AIDS epidemic underway across the region. EST. 7 million] people were living with HIV at the end of 2022. et al (1999) 'Origin of HIV-1 in the chimpanzee Pan troglodytes troglodytes' Nature 397(6718):436-441 Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1, colored green, budding from a cultured lymphocyte. A journal, Perspectives in Cancer Research, published his theory. Dr. & Hahn, B. By examining the different ways that different types of storytellers chronicle the political, social, public health, medical, and economic aspects of epidemic disease, this essay However, new problems arose, such as the HIV and AIDS epidemic and smoking-related issues. This makes it easier to get sick with diseases like tuberculosis, infections and some cancers. HIV is a retrovirus that primarily infects components of the human immune system such as CD4 + T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. However, HIV was propagating in the country before that. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is the U. [1] According to reports, the virus has been present in the country since roughly 40 years ago. Ninety-three-percent of diagnosed people are on antiretroviral Jun 22, 2020 · In 1990, I began to study the HIV/AIDS epidemics in the US, Brazil and Cuba, each led by different public policies (Scheper-Hughes 1994). In the meantime, researchers investigated not just the source of HIV but also its diversity in humans Apr 19, 2021 · After the initial MMWR report was published, it took 2–3 years for the cause of AIDS, the novel retrovirus designated HIV, to be identified (4,5), and many more years to uncover its simian origin . (2011) 'Origins of HIV and the AIDS pandemic' Cold Spring Harbour Perspectives in Medicine 1(1):a006841 Gao, F. The The AIDS epidemic in San Francisco began in the 1980s with the first documented case occurring in 1981. 2 percent of the world's population, [1] more than two-thirds Mar 19, 2024 · AIDS, transmissible disease of the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ). In 1981, at roughly the same time that AIDS first appeared in San Francisco and New York City, 2 Cuba faced its own crisis, when its military forces returned from Angola and Mozambique with a sickness that Jul 28, 2010 · In his book, The African AIDS Epidemic: A History, eminent African historian John Iliffe provides a more simple yet complex answer: time and historical sequence. Sep 1, 2011 · There is a newer edition of this item: The Origins of AIDS. . The U. According to government statistics, of the estimated 154 000 people living with HIV, 89% know their status. in the 1980s, particularly in San Francisco and New York City, where the vibrant gay culture faced the disease head-on. Oct 19, 2000 · The Royal Society's discussion meeting on the origins of HIV and the AIDS epidemic was organized by Simon Wain-Hobson of the Pasteur Institute and Robin Weiss of the Windeyer Institute, University May 5, 2020 · Nowhere in the world is the AIDS epidemic been more devastating than the continent of Africa. In poetry, fiction, reportage, plays, and critical thought, a Feb 24, 2015 · February 24, 2015 at 2:35 p. Since the early days of the AIDS epidemic, many bizarre and dangerous hypotheses have been advanced to explain the origins of the disease. Not all the work on HIV / AIDS history has come exclusively from the field of what we now call queer studies or history, but a lot of it June 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of the first description of what became known as HIV/AIDS, now one of history’s worst pandemics. Once people get HIV, they have it for life. DECLINE. It is now forty years since the discovery of AIDS, but its origins continue to puzzle doctors, scientists and patients. biological-weapons research program. In 1986, U. Ending an epidemic. In 1981, a new syndrome, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), was first recognized among homosexual men in the United States HIV. If you're interested in this topic, "The Origin of AIDS" by Jacques Pepin (Cambridge 2011) is an excellent book that walks through the evidence behind this theory in much greater detail. Health officials first became aware of AIDS in the summer of 1981, but U. 1402493 May 26, 2020 · The film featured an interview with the Segals, who expounded upon their thesis; conversations with journalists and African scientists, who denounced the hypothesis of a natural origin of AIDS in Africa as racist; and U. PMID: 29132290 DOI: 10. 297 books based on 208 votes: And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts, Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Br Jun 2, 2021 · Since June 1981, AIDS has claimed more than 700,000 lives in the U. ACT UP used civil disobedience, like die-ins, not only to vent frustration, but Jul 12, 2021 · Reflections on 40 Years of HIV. HIV is a lentivirus (literally meaning “slow virus”; a member of the retrovirus family) that slowly attacks and destroys the immune system, the body’s defense against infection, leaving an individual vulnerable to a variety of other Nov 26, 2019 · Recent Findings. HIV is the cause of the spectrum of disease known as HIV/AIDS. 82. 7% [0. Globally, 39. S. As TODAY kicks o The first case of AIDS was reported in 1985 in China, but by the early 21st century, the government estimated that there were 840,000 citizens living with HIV/AIDS. Feb 20, 2015 · With that possibility dangling, the origin of HIV-1 remained uncertain for much of the decade. One year into the Ebola epidemic. The statistics are horrifying — according to UNAIDS, in 2015, there were 36. M. We examined beliefs about the origin of HIV as a genocidal conspiracy in men and women of four racial/ethnic groups in a street intercept sample in Houston, Texas. Response to the Global Epidemic. Groups sampled were African American, Latino, non-Hispanic white, and Asian. 2989/16085906. •. On June 5, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on cases of Pneumocystis pneumonia that afflicted “5 young men, all active homosexuals,” in Los Angeles. HIV targets the body’s white blood cells, weakening the immune system. CHAPTER 2 - Retrospective studies conducted by WHO staff and Guinean health officials identified the index case May 5, 2023 · The Origins of AIDS by Jacques Pepin is a book that examines the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It directly and indirectly destroys CD4 + T cells. C. In 1985, Ryan White, a teenage hemophiliac living in Indiana, contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion. Dan Royles is an assistant professor of history at Florida International University in Miami. HIV does not cause AIDS. HIV, which is the virus that may lead to Jul 2, 2020 · Progress against the HIV/AIDS Epidemic. [3] Nov 25, 2021 · The 1959 sample is the first recorded case in which a blood sample can confirm HIV infection but may not be the first official emergence of HIV. Sep 1, 2017 · Indeed, that field largely took shape at the height of the HIV / AIDS epidemic, one of the greatest assaults on queer communities already vulnerable to state violence, negligence, erasure, and marginalization. leaders remained largely silent for four years. 1 ,2 Even if this will have no impact on the course of the epidemic, understanding the factors that allowed the successful emergence of HIV-1 is important, first as a moral obligation towards the victims, but also to draw lessons that could ultimately help mankind avoid facing Abstract. Inspired by his own experiences working as an infectious diseases physician in Africa, Jacques Pepin looks back to the early twentieth-century events in Africa that triggered the emergence of HIV/AIDS and traces its subsequent development into the most dramatic and destructive epidemic Origins of the 2014 Ebola epidemic. In this chapter Lochlann argues that much of the Jan 5, 2023 · From "An Early Frost" to "Dallas Buyer's Club". Together with the virulence of the disease, these unknowns inspired a great deal of fear in the early days of the epidemic, which in Oct 26, 2016 · HIV arrived in New York City precisely 10 years before doctors first noticed the disease, a conclusion that’s based on new research published today in Nature. Through PEPFAR, which was launched in 2003, the U. Jun 3, 2021 · Fauci was one of the few government health officials willing to speak about AIDS at all—and especially about the fact that AIDS was much more than an isolated threat. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the most advanced stage of the disease. The HIV infection epidemic in China has evolved significantly over the past 35 years, from initially exclusively within people who inject drugs (PWID), to outbreaks due to plasma collection contamination in the mid-1990s, to now almost exclusive transmission via sexual contact. The basic public health tools of surveillance and epidemiologic investigation helped define the epidemic and led to initial prevention recommendations. 4 million [32. As a real detective, McKay meticulously analyzes the early days of what has become the largest pandemic in modern times, unraveling the myth of one man triggering the epidemic in North America. 1250 to the present day Save to My Bitesize Remove from My Bitesize Oct 3, 2014 · AIDS is one of the most devastating infectious diseases in human history, and its cause, HIV, has been responsible for nearly 75 million infections (). “We wanted treatment because we were sick and the only place where there was Nov 28, 2018 · AIDS was first described as a new disease in 1981 the origins of HIV-1 and the reasons for its explosive appearance and rapid transformation into a global epidemic remained a mystery. and today more than 1. 9–51. “Life has really changed over the past 30 years. In the United States, the first cases of AIDS weren’t reported until 1981. The IOM has a long history of studying AIDS, having published more than 20 reports on the subject since 1986. Inspired by his own experiences working as a physician in a bush hospital in Zaire, Jacques Pépin looks back to the early twentieth-century events in central Africa that triggered the emergence of HIV/AIDS and traces its subsequent development into the most dramatic and According of unaids. “This was a massive According to the UN’s 2004 report on AIDS, some 38 million people are living with HIV, approximately 5 million people become infected annually, and about 3 million people die each year from AIDS. There is currently no effective cure. 1990) came together to form a consciousness-raising group amid the early days of the AIDS epidemic. A Brief History of HIV/AIDS in the United States. 6-0. The prevalence of HIV began to decline in the late 1980s and continued throughout the 1990s. If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). 3 million deaths from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic. 8%] of adults aged 15–49 years This commentary discusses several journalistic, literary, and historical accounts of the AIDS epidemic as it has unfolded in the United States over the past 2 decades. 9%, down from a high of 3. The number is increasing rapidly. and Western critics of the ostensibly defensive U. The disease was found in gay men living in major metropolitan areas, such as San Francisco. It is now thirty years since the discovery of AIDS but its origins continue to puzzle doctors and scientists. wj uo tn hh qb ie eb pb ea du