aid in the 1980's?

Question

WELL IM IN SCHOOL AND WE HAVE TO DO I PROJECT ON AID IN NTHE 1980'S OF COURSE I GOOGLED IT BUT NOTHING CAME UP SO CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHATS THE DIFFERENTS BETWEEN AIDS NOW AND AID IN THE 1980'S PLEASE AND THANKS

Answer 1

AIDS emerged in the 1980's. We didn't know what it was what was causing it, how it was spread, how to treat it or how to prevent it. People died mysteriously and in ever-increasing numbers. There were *huge* AIDS scares (in the gay community, blood banking, drug users, etc), and the political climate complicated the process for drafting policies dealing with AIDS.

We know a lot more now about AIDS thanks to years and years of research. Thanks to new drug therapies, people who catch HIV are living longer. HIV used to be a death sentence, but it's not anymore. People are managing it to the point where their life-expectancies are a lot less definite.

I think if you researched (not just Google, read a BOOK fer cryin' out loud!!!) the HISTORY of AIDS and HIV, you'd be better equipped to write you report. I recommend watching a movie called 'And the Band Played On' or read the original book by Randy Shilts.

Answer 2

In the 1980's (US) it was politically termed things like 'GRID' (gay related immune disorder) by people like Ronald Reagan and was thought to spread mainly through homosexual contact by the majority of people.

It was then obvious that it was spread in blood products and bodily fluids.

At that point in time there was HIV in the blood supply, in transplants, many critical medical supplies were not screened and transmission vectors weren't controlled so many people actually caught it through seemingly benign routes. Hemophiliacs are an example of a victim without taking an action to catch the disease.

When HIV became apparent was when there were a lot of AIDS cases (determined by opportunistic infections, karposi's sarcoma, or CD4+ counts). There people died quickly and about the only drug available was AZT. AZT prolonged life a bit, but was not extremely effective as a monotheraphy.

By the time people were concerned about AIDS symptoms it had spread to many others. The outlook was bleak. People with AIDS were eventually forbidden entry to the country and other discriminatory practices occurred that made people reluctant to be tested.

Later we had the HAART era (Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy) and the life expectancy increased dramatically.

It was also thought in the 80's that the virus grew slowly when one was infected, when we now know that it disseminates through the body at breakneck speed when somebody has Acute Retroviral Syndrome or Primary HIV.

Some cities would lose large amounts of their population from the disease, but the attitude was always 'it will never happen to me'.

Many other misconceptions existed and the hope for a cure was quite high. There is no cure, but now people are expected to die from things like old age instead of AIDS.

Another significant thing is that HIV tests were limited and the ELISA tests of that time only hit HIV 1 with the main type. Now you have EIA for HIV 1 and HIV 2 with all types, subgroups, and the outlier/o group. People who were tested with old tests might benefit from retesting. A later PCR tests found existing infections prior to an EIA update.

Most of how the disease was NOT spread was cloaked in paranoia. The disease was also called HTLV 2 or a different confusing name (not the current HTLV).

So many people caught it, and it is still here. It has mutated and there are many different therapies. In the 1980's it was a death sentence unless you were lucky with clinical trials.

Answer 3

In North America

Then: No drugs that worked, thousands of people dying, it was a taboo topic and the word HIV wasn't even mentioned by Reagan or until 7 years or so after the epidemic was recognized, huge stigma and fear: people with AIDS were vilified, discriminated against, major government underfunding and inaction, gay men and their queer allies rose up and forced change

Now: still discrimination and stigma but more subtle and not necessarily politically correct, drugs that work meaning less people dying, people still becoming infected in unnaceptable numbers, government funding is still a MAJOR issue (conservative governments have been historically very bad on HIV/AIDS related funding, decrease in HIV knowledge among youth today vs. the early 90s.

I would suggest you google Larry Kramer's writings from the 80s as they give a vivid account of the time period, also look at the history of ACT UP and the GMHC.

Hope this helps

Answer 4

For your homework, you should do more than one quick GOOGLE search. Hundreds of good books have been written, and your local library also probably has videos such as "And the Band Played On" or "Philladelpha" which were movies made about AIDS in the 1980s.

When I do a GOOGLE search for [history of AIDS in America] I find a few dozen really good sources of information. Please don't ask us to do all of your homework for you. Part of learning, is learning how to find information.