(around 0.3 percent). Since a number of Haitians
who did not then appear to fall within the other cate-
gories had been diagnosed with the disorder, Hai-
tians were included among the risk groups.
Isolation of the Etiological Agent Speculation within
the general public, and even among some medical
professionals, as to the cause of AIDS initially focused
on homosexual behaviors, such as the use of amyl ni-
trate to enhance sexual pleasure or even the practice
of anonymous sex with multiple partners. Among
some evangelicals, the belief was that the disease rep-
resented a punishment from God. Since semen itself
was felt to have some immunosuppressive properties,
“sperm overload” was suggested as a possible cause.
The demographics of the disease, however, did not
fit. Increasing numbers of cases were observed
among hemophiliacs, women, and even infants and
young children, twenty-six of whom had been diag-
nosed with AIDS by late 1982. Furthermore, the spe-
cific cause of the immunodeficiency had become ap-
parent, a loss of a class of lymphocytes called T cells,
named for their site of maturation in the thymus. Re-
searchers began to narrow their focus in the search
for a cause, believing that it likely was a virus.
Suspicion by 1983 began to focus on a group of
viruses known as human T-lymphotropic viruses
(HTLVs), which had the ability to infect lympho-
cytes. HTLV-1 and HTLV-2, the two initial suspects,
were in a group known as retroviruses. Retroviruses
are viruses containing ribonucleic acid (RNA) that
also carry an enzyme called reverse transcriptase, a
protein that copies their RNA into deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) following infection. Ultimately, two lab-
oratories laid claim to isolation of the etiological
agent associated with AIDS, one in Paris, the other in
Bethesda, Maryland.
Among the leading researchers in this field was
Robert Gallo at the National Institutes of Health.
Gallo was already well known for his development of
a method to grow lymphocytes in culture. In retro-
spect, the timing of this procedure turned out to be
critical to the hunt for the cause of AIDS, since the
ability to grow HIV in the laboratory and to develop
an effective method for testing blood supplies was
the result of Gallo’s work.
In April, 1984, Gallo announced the isolation and
identification of a virus that he felt was the cause of
AIDS and that he named HTLV-3. However, the issue
of priority quickly introduced politics into the sci-
ence. In January, 1983, Luc Montagnier at the Pas-
teur Institute had also isolated a virus that he felt was
the etiological agent of AIDS and that he called the
lymphadenopathy associated virus (LAV). The two
viruses were later shown to be identical. The issue of
priority was never completely settled, though the evi-
dence is that Montagnier was probably first, while
Gallo is credited with developing the blood test for
the virus’s detection. To eliminate the confusion
over names, the virus was given the name HIV. In
1985, a second, similar virus was isolated in West Af-
rica; the original virus was named HIV-1, while the
newer isolate became HIV-2.Widening Epidemic Though the initial features of
the growing epidemic were focused primarily in the
United States, it became clear by 1984 that the out-
break was taking place in much of the world. What
had been known as “slim disease” in Africa was iden-
tified as AIDS and was seen in hundreds of patients
there. By 1985, the disease had been found in more
than fifty countries. More than seven thousand per-
sons with AIDS were diagnosed in the United States,
though likely many more were actually HIV-positive.
The impact of the disease on Americans was made
particularly poignant by coverage of two high-
profile cases. In 1984, a thirteen-year-old Indiana
student named Ryan White acquired AIDS from a
blood transfusion used to treat his hemophilia. Fear
of transmission resulted in his being removed from
the school system and forced him to be schooled at
home. The issue was brought to court, which re-
sulted in a ruling that he be allowed to return to
school. Despite a five-year fight to educate the public
on how AIDS can, and cannot, be transmitted, he
was frequently harassed by other students and their
parents and eventually moved to another town where
he was accepted. In his last years, White frequently
spoke to other students, explaining his illness and
philosophy of life. White died in 1990. In his honor,
the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources
Emergency Act was passed by Congress in 1990 to
provide health care for persons with AIDS who had
no insurance coverage.
The second high-profile case was that of movie
star Rock Hudson, who was diagnosed with AIDS in
1984, although the information was not released un-
til the following year. Though it was an open secret
in the movie community, the public was unaware
that Hudson was gay. Despite a courageous fight,40 AIDS epidemic The Eighties in America