When HIV first appeared in the US, it was completely unknown. The CDC MMWR report from June 1982 examined in class offers no solid explanation for the sudden series of Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) and Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia (PCP) in previously healthy homosexual men. This was so unusual because KS and PCP normally only affect those with weakened immune systems. In 1985 it was announced that the HIV virus had been discovered, through the efforts of American Robert Gallo and Frenchman Luc Montangier. According to the textbook (Power of Plagues by Irwin Sherman, copyright 2017), each man discovered the virus independently before they announced them to be the same, and regardless of the announcement the French and US governments squabbled for priority in disease research and treatment.

Meanwhile, the US public descended into fear and terror of contracting HIV. People believed it could be shared through simple hand contact, toilet seats, or even through the air. As shown in the film during class, government failed to properly reassure the public. Even though the disease had been proved to only spread through bodily fluids, President Reagan said in a press conference that nothing had yet been confirmed and that people should proceed with caution regarding their children’s safety. Furthermore, since the disease was originally thought to occur in gay men (called gay-related immune deficiency or GRID), a stigma developed against homosexuals (for being the “source” of the disease) and against those who had the disease (assuming that they were homosexual or somehow unclean). As discussed in class, this stigma remains common today, despite the advances in understanding and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Despite the original HIV outbreak in the US being in San Francisco, the south is now the center of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the US. A 2019 New York Times article by Charlene Flash explains that Southerners often have trouble finding transportation and covering the costs of medication, and that demographic shifts have led to higher numbers of African-Americans and Hispanics, much higher-risk groups for HIV. Sufficient treatment does exist for HIV, most notably in the form of antiretroviral therapy (ART), which can reduce virus levels to eliminate the chance of transmission (as described in a 2019 Journal of the American Medical Association article). For those HIV-negative but at a high risk, there is PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to lower the risk of getting the infection, and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) to reduce the risk of contracting it after an exposure. According to the WHO website there is also an HIV vaccine being developed, though it has not been fully tested or approved by the CDC or FDA. Following President Trump’s mention of eliminating AIDS in March 2019, Flash’s New York Times article suggests that the key to conquering HIV/AIDS in the US is better logistics: ensuring that treatment is easily available and affordable to those who need it, since current technology and medicine provides all the tools necessary (in Flash’s opinion) to eliminate the disease.

HR: References as listed in text, class discussion, Microsoft Word