Lecture 25 part 1 The Origin of HIV First part of class was spent going over exam questions that may have caused confusion The Year was 1981 CDC does weekly mortality reports Case of 5 men active homosexuals had strange lung infection never occurs 2 Patients died all had fungal growth in mouths various places which is also very strange Eventually all died MMWR Weekly June 5th 1981 An editorial note Suggests that there was a link between homosexual lifestyle and these diseases First Encounter Dr Michael Gottleib First patient he saw lost 30 pounds had fevers and lung infection Another man came in with shortness of breath a fatal form of pneumonia Analysis of blood sample found absence of T cells Cases were dying in a matter of months Strange Diseases Kaposi s Sarcoma KS Rare form of relatively benign cancer that tends to occur in older people July 1981 41 cases of aggressive KS occurred amongst young gay men in New York and LA AIDS The Early Years A 1981 memo from the CDC director requests the NCI to collaborate with the cdc on studies of Kaposi s Sarcoma The strange occurrences of this disease were considered important enough it was suggested that the CDC and NCI work together Usually these 2 agencies are HIGHLY competitive The Story Unfolds April 22 1984 Dr Mason CDC I believe we have the cause of AIDS In reference to lymphadenopathy virus LAV April 23 1984 US Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler announced that Dr Robert Gallo of the NCI had isolated AIDS virus Heckler We hope to have a vaccine against AIDS ready for testing in about two years yet another terrible disease is about to yield to patience persistence and outright genius AIDS Activism in Early 1980s US politicians did not want to acknowledge HIV AIDS nor fund any research on the Gay Man s Disease What is AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Acquired means you can get infected with it not inherited Immune Deficiency means a weakness in the body s system that fights diseases Syndrome means a group of health problems that make up a disease The term AIDS refers to an advanced stage of HIV infection when the immune system has sustained substantial damage Not everyone who has HIV infection develops AIDS
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