AIDS virus attacking a cell

The Discovery and Identification of AIDS

(Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

A T-Cell (Purple)

In 1981, there was a man who had many symptoms of infection, such as fever, weight loss, thrush, and a damaged immune system. An assistant professor at UCLA name Michael S. Gottlieb learned of him when searching for teaching cases. It was soon apparent that whatever the patient was suffering from had not been discovered yet. The one thing that Gottlieb did notice was that there was an extremely low T-cell count.

Diagram of Pneumonia and a baby that has AIDS

Soon, the patient was discharged without anyone diagnosing him. However, the patient returned with a fever and pneumonia. In this case, the disease was a rare form of Pneumonia that mainly attacked children with weak immune systems. The patient was treated and discharged.

Not long after this patient was discharged, Gottlieb discovered two more patients with similar symptoms that the first patient had. The significance of these next two patients was that they were gay. Kaposis Sarcoma was also a key symptom in these two patients, because KS was usually not found in young men.

Dr. Michael Gottlieb, and a patient with KS on the back.

Examples of cytomegalovirus

A new development was found when the men died, and autopsies were performed. They discovered that both men had a DNA virus called cytomegalovirus. It was obvious through all of the symptoms that something was attacking the immune system and weakening it, making it susceptible to diseases that are usually rare.

Nitrate poppers, which are inhaled, were a suspected cause of AIDS.

A fourth case was soon discovered in LA. Another gay man was discovered to have CMV, and Pneumonia. A fifth case was found in Beverly Hills. At first there were many theories about what the disease actually was, such as immune overload, butyl nitrate poppers, and cytomegalovirus as the cause.

The one thing that all of these patients had in common was that they were gay. This inspired the first name of the disease, GRID, or GayRelated Immune Deficiency. The first cause of GRID (AIDS) that was pinpointed was homosexuality. However, GRID was then documented in heterosexuals who were injecting drugs. After this discovery, the name of the disease was changed to AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
An injection drug user, and AIDS attacking a cell

After the disease was documented, many believed they were safe because they were not gay. However, because the disease affected mostly homosexuals and African American males, there was a backlash against the communities of the two minorities. The disease is still associated with the gay community today, even with our increased knowledge of the condition.

The AIDS quilt was made in memory of those who died from complications related to AIDS.

Eventually, it was discovered how AIDS could affect everyone, and was transmitted through contact with bodily fluid. This discovery also sparked many changes in the medical and social community, such as stricter regulations on donating blood and organs, and the encouragement of safe sex. We also know that no one has actually died from AIDS, since it is an immune disease that weakens the immune system. Those who have died have died from other causes that were facilitated by the AIDS virus. Since 1981, there have been more than one million people living with HIV and more than half a million have died from complications with AIDS.

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