16 pages • 32 minutes read
The Virus
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Background
Historical Context
In the summer of 1981, physicians from New York and California began reporting cases of unusual infections among gay men in major cities. The patients suffered from rare life-threatening diseases that could not be easily explained. By 1982 when similar cases appeared in other countries, it became clear that this was a new medical condition, which the Center for Disease Control named Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. In the next several years, scientists gradually identified the virus causing AIDS, which became officially known as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus in 1986. By then, AIDS had spread in all regions of the world with over 38,400 known cases. By the end of 1990, that number grew to 307,000 cases. The first HIV medication was approved in 1987 but it was highly toxic, and its benefits were limited. It was only in the late 1990s that safer and more effective medications gradually transformed AIDS from a death sentence to a manageable, chronic disease (“History of HIV and AIDS Overview.” 2019. Avert: Global Information and Education on HIV and AIDS).
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