Perception of HIV/Aids in the USA 1970's/ 1980's
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was discovered in America during early 1969. People think and believe that the virus came from one individual who then spread the disease to other people. Many infection cases were realized in most parts of American cities between late 1970s and early 1980s (Cecchine, Moore & United States, 2006). Men were diagnosed with a certain rare type of skin cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma especially in New York and Los Angeles. Many of the people or men suffering from this rare cancer were gay people thus people refereed to the cancer as the gay cancer. However this was only one of symptoms of the virus since doctors discovered that people with the disease had some other rare disorders. A certain pneumonia caused by fungal infection was common in the patients suffering from the disease. The disease with these rare symptoms was named Gay Related Immune Deficiency (GRID). People had a notion from the name that the disease was a result of someone being gay and thus people feared being homosexuals in order to avoid this rare disease. Most people believed that having unprotected anal sex was the cause of spread of the disease (Cecchine, Moore & United States, 2006). From the research conducted by researchers, doctors and scientists further indicated that the disease was not for the gay people only as the public believed. The list of people getting the disease included those that had undergone a blood transfusion, drug users who shared sharp objects such as needles, newborn babies and people who had unprotected sex.
AVERT Group and their Work
During the year 1982 CDC centre for disease control and prevention named the disease AIDS instead of the former GRID (Gostin & Kirby, 2004). AIDS is the short form for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome since it was discovered that the disease was not for the gay but acquired by all people included the newborns. It was further discovered that what caused the disease was a virus known as HIV (Human immunodeficiency Virus). The main way the virus is spread from one person to another is through coming into contact with contaminated blood. This was well evidenced during the early eighties and late seventies where many people died as a result of blood contact with already infected people especially through blood transfusions, delivery and sexual intercourse. During those days people who suffered from hemophilia all tested HIV positive since their bloods got contaminated because needles were shared during injections (Gostin & Kirby, 2004). It was unlucky for these people since if the disease had been discovered early and the course of the diseases identified, prevention measures would have been put in place. Currently in America, the number of people suffering from HIV is over one million with the number rising annually instead of declining as expected.
Doctors and Treatment of HIV in the Eighties and Seventies
Doctors had many victims suffering from the illnesses ranging from gays to drug users who all had wired and rare symptoms. Sexually transmitted diseases were rare and were symptoms of the deadly AIDS. Before HIV was discovered doctors treated people uncommon infections such as sore throats, swollen glands, fever and other uncommon conditions (Gostin & Kirby, 2004). Many deaths were witnessed during these years since the cause of the disease had not been identified thus they were not preventive measures. People feared gay people since they thought the disease would be spread to them even through air since scientist had not realized what was spreading the virus in a very fast manner. Doctors lacked the necessary medical information on HIV and did not have the cure for the disease since they did not even know its cause. Most of the doctors read medical journals but were not able to get more information about the strange disease but scientists too did not have enough information on the cause, treatment and preventive measures. In the early nineties doctors came up with a solution that helped victims of HIV which was a therapy by the name Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) (Gostin & Kirby, 2004). During the early nineties eighties doctors watched helplessly as victims of AIDS died since there was not much they would do. The rate of deaths increased and the spread of the disease intensified since there was no cure, preventive measures and available information on how the disease was being spread. Most people and especially known social groups were wiped out by this deadly disease which was strange to both the scientists and medical doctors. Anti-HIV drugs were given to patients since 1996 where bed ridden patients were able to come back to life and continue with their normal businesses (Gostin & Kirby, 2004). The symptoms were no longer present in the patients who after taking the drugs led normal lives unlike before where the disease wasted the patients and cut their lives short especially the gay community.
How Many People Could Have Been Saved If Perception Was Different?
Large numbers of people died in the seventies and eighties since people believed that HIV only affected the gay people. This was wrong since HIV affected and spread to all people especially those drug users who shared needles. Infected mothers who went to give birth to babies also spread the disease to the newborns (Hammett & Bronson, 2016). Blood in the blood banks also increased the spread of the disease since once blood transfusion occurred with the contaminated blood, the patient would definitely acquire the virus. People feared the deadly disease which saw them burry people each day yet the cause was not yet identified. People feared the gay community and thought that the disease was for the gay people but with time both men and women died of this disease. People who suffered from the disease were thought to be gay people and the non gay people were falsely accused of being gay. People assumed that each gay person was suffering from AIDS and thus gay people were feared and were not seen as part of the society. Women who had AIDS symptoms were believed to be suffering from another strange disease since AIDS was the disease for the gay only (Hammett & Bronson, 2016). If the perception was different, many women and men would have been saved since people would not have associate the disease with gays only.
Many people died and each death was associated with the disease especially if men died. The blood test took several years before it was discovered thus people did not know whether they were infected or not. Families and friends of people suffering from AIDS did not give the patients the necessary care and support since they did not know how the disease was spread thus they feared being infected with the disease (Hammett & Bronson, 2016). A whole community of gay older men was swept away by the disease which made the younger gay people frustrated since they were left without mentors. People were afraid of the disease since they buried their loved ones within shortest periods of time. Many people would have been saved if the perception was different since families of the sick would take care of their loved ones without believing they would get infected without blood contact involved.
HIV as an Epidemic and What Could Have Been Done To Prevent It
HIV was and is still an epidemic since it not only affects the victim but the whole society as well (Dubin & Francis, 2013). Family members and friends of the victim are affected in that time is dedicated to take care of the sick person. In the seventies and eighties, HIV was the biggest epidemic since it affected the sick individual and all the society people as well most especially the family members who were burdened by their sick individual who would now depend on other people for existence. Creation of awareness regarding the disease, how it was acquired and preventive measures would have reduced the spread of the deadly disease. Doctors needed to make people aware of ways of preventing themselves from getting the disease and counseling the infected ones to ensure they lived positively and did not spread the disease to others. Sex was the main method which ensured the disease was spread thus advocating for protected sex would have been the main issue advocated for by the media, doctors and other awareness groups (Dubin & Francis, 2013). Quick research would have taken place instead of assuming the disease only affected the gay people and thus scientist and researchers failed since they consumed much time in identifying the killer disease, cause of the disease, cure and preventive measures that could control further spread of the disease.
References
Cecchine, G., Moore, M., & United States. (2006). Infectious disease and national security: Strategic information needs. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
Gostin, L. O., & Kirby, M. D. (2004). The AIDS pandemic: Complacency, injustice, and unfulfilled expectations.
Hammett, T. M., & Bronson, R. T. (2016). Unrecognized “AIDS” in Monkeys, 1969– 1980: Explanations and Implications. American Journal Of Public Health, 106(6), 1015-1022.
Dubin, C., & Francis, D. (2013). Closing the circle: a thirty-year retrospective on the AIDS/blood epidemic. Transfusion, 53(10pt2), 2359-2364. doi:10.1111/trf.12374
