Hudson died in October, 1985. Another prominent
person with AIDS was Liberace. A well-known enter-
tainer, Liberace died from AIDS in 1987.
The response to the AIDS epidemic by the admin-
istration of President Ronald Reagan was largely ne-
glect during the early years of the outbreak. Despite
the fact that AIDS had clearly expanded far beyond
the homosexual community, conservatives largely
ignored the problem or simply blamed a “choice” of
lifestyle. The gay communities in larger cities did re-
spond, attempting to close the bathhouses that of-
ten served in spreading the disease, as well as educat-
ing the gay community on how the disease could be
avoided. The effort was successful, and new infec-
tions began to level off within the community. By the
end of the decade, several events served to bring the
problem of AIDS to the general public. In 1986, the
National Council of Churches established an ecu-
menical task force, which shortly met with the U.S.
surgeon general, C. Everett Koop. The group later
produced a pamphlet that attempted to educate the
public about the disease. Beginning in December,
1988, the first annual World AIDS Day was held, with
the goal being to bring the issue to the attention of
the world at large.
The first effective treatment for AIDS appeared
in 1987. Azidothymidine (AZT), originally devel-
oped as an anti-cancer drug, was shown to be effec-
tive in inhibiting the replication of the virus. Al-
though HIV would develop resistance to the drug, it
did provide a means to extend the life of affected in-
dividuals.
Impact When AIDS surfaced in Western countries
in the early 1980’s, it was treated primarily as limited
to those exhibiting certain social behaviors. Scien-
tists, medical professionals, activists, and other advo-
cates struggled throughout the decade to educate the
populace as to the epidemic’s severity, HIV’s ability to
spread to anyone, and the specific, limited number of
methods of transmission. By the end of the decade,
AIDS was widely recognized as a problem of global
significance requiring global resources to combat.
Indeed, AIDS went on to become a worldwide pan-
demic that would create particular havoc in develop-
ing nations. Lack of proper medical facilities in these
countries, poor education in presenting the means to
avoid the disease, and the difficulty of altering long-
held sexual mores all contributed to the problem. As
a result, the middle class in much of central and
southern Africa was devastated, creating a generation
of orphans and taxing the economy of these coun-
tries. Much the same scenario developed in portions
of Asia as well. Debate continues as to whether the
scope of this tragedy could have been limited by a
swifter, more decisive response on the part of of the
U.S. government and President Reagan, who refused
to address the crisis in public until May, 1987.Further Reading
Diamond, Jared. “The Mysterious Origin of AIDS.”
Natural Histor y101, no. 9 (September, 1992): 25-- One of the earlier presentations about the
likely origin of HIV as a simian virus. The author
includes speculation as to how the virus may have
jumped species.
Engel, Jonathan.The Epidemic: A Global Histor y of
AIDS. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. The au-
thor, a medical historian, provides a history of the
outbreak, from its first recognition in the early
1980’s to the situation as of 2006. An extensive
bibliography is included.
Gallo, Robert.Virus Hunting. New York: Basic Books, - Autobiography of one of the scientists con-
sidered to have discovered HIV. Includes his own
(albeit arguably biased) description of the dis-
covery.
Gallo, Robert, and Luc Montagnier. “AIDS in 1988.”
Scientific American259, no. 4 (October, 1988): 40- - Description of the recognition of HIV and its
association with the disease, by the two scientists
most closely linked with the discovery.
Montagnier, Luc.Virus. New York: W. W. Norton, - Autobiography of the other scientist with a
claim to having discovered HIV.
Shilts, Randy, and William Greider.And the Band
Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic.
New York: St. Martin’s Press/Stonewall Inn Edi-
tions, 2000. Updated description of the outbreak
of the AIDS epidemic and how the lack of recog-
nition by agencies contributed to its spread. Shilts
was a newspaper reporter who later succumbed to
the illness.
Stine, Gerald.AIDS Update, 2007. San Francisco:
Benjamin Cummings, 2007. Yearly update on re-
search into the AIDS virus, as well as information
about biological events that follow infection. Dis-
cussion about the progress of treatment is also in-
cluded.
Richard Adler
The Eighties in America AIDS epidemic 41