The dominant feature of this first period was silence, for the
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was unknown and
transmission was not accompanied by signs or symptoms salient
enough to be noticed. While rare, sporadic case reports of AIDS
and sero-archaeological studies have documented human
infections with HIV prior to 1970, available data suggest that the
current pandemic started in the mid- to late 1970s. By 1980, HIV
had spread to at least five continents (North America, South
America, Europe, Africa and Australia). During this period of
silence, spread was unchecked by awareness or any preventive
action and approximately 100,000-300,000 persons may have
been infected."Jonathan Mann 1
1981 History
1982 History
Up to 1980
In June, the CDC published a report about the
occurrence, without identifiable cause, of PCP in
five men in Los Angeles. This report is sometimes
referred to as the "beginning" of AIDS, but it
might be more accurate to describe it as the
beginning of the general awareness of AIDS in
the USA. Around this time a number of theories
were developed about the possible cause of these
opportunistic infections and cancers. Early
theories included infection with cytomegalovirus,
the use of amyl nitrite or butyl nitrate "poppers",
and "immune overload".
The disease still did not have a name, with
different groups referring to it in different ways.
The CDC generally referred to it by reference to
the diseases that were occurring, for example
lymphadenopathy (swollen glands), although on
some occasions they referred to it as KSOI, the
name already given to the CDC task force.
In contrast some still linked the disease to its
initial occurrence in gay men, with a letter in The
Lancet calling it "gay compromise
syndrome".Others called it GRID (gay-related
immune deficiency), AID (acquired
immunodeficiency disease), "gay cancer" or
"community-acquired immune dysfunction".
In June a report of a group of cases amongst gay
men in Southern California suggested that the
disease might be caused by an infectious agent
that was sexually transmitted.
In January, reports of AIDS among women with no other risk factors suggested the disease might be passed on
through heterosexual sex
1983 History
At about the same time the CDC convened a meeting to consider how the transmission of AIDS could be
prevented, and in particular to consider the newly emerged evidence that AIDS might be spread through blood
clotting factor and through blood transfusions. As James Curran, the head of the CDC task force, said:
"The sense of urgency is greatest for haemophiliacs. The risk for others [who receive blood products] now appears
small, but is unknown.”
The risk for haemophiliacs was so great because the blood concentrate that some haemophiliacs used exposed
them to the blood of up to 5,000 individual blood donors.
1984 History
Researchers who had visited Central Africa in late 1983 reported
they had identified 26 patients with AIDS in Kigali, Rwanda, and
38 in Kinshasa, Zaire. The Rwandan study concluded that, "an
association of an urban environment, a relatively high income, and
heterosexual promiscuity could be a risk factor for AIDS in
Africa".The Zairian study found there to be a "strong indication of
heterosexual transmission"
1985 History
In light of these findings the Zairian Department of Public Health,
in collaboration with American and European scientists, launched
a national AIDS research programme called Project SIDA.
In January 1985 a number of more detailed reports were
published concerning LAV and HTLV-III, and by March it
was clear that the viruses were the same. The same month
the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed, for
commercial production, the first blood test for AIDS. The
test would reveal the presence of antibodies to HTLVIII/LAV, and it was announced that anyone who had
antibodies in their blood would not in future be allowed to
donate blood
1986 History
In May 1986, the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses ruled that both
names should be dropped and the dispute solved by a new name, HIV (Human
Immunodeficiency Virus).
At the opening speech of the International Conference in Paris, held from 23rd to 25th June
1986, Dr H Mahler, the Director of WHO, announced that as many as 10 million people
worldwide could already be infected with HIV.
In August, the USA Federal Government accused an employer of illegal discrimination
against a person with AIDS for the first time. A hospital had dismissed a nurse and refused
to offer him an alternative job. This was seen as a violation of his civil rights
In September there was dramatic progress in the provision of medical treatment for AIDS,
when early results of clinical tests showed that a drug called azidothymidine (AZT) slowed
down the attack of HIV. AZT was first synthesised in 1964 as a possible anticancer drug but
it proved ineffective.