As we prepare to enter our 25th year, we are reflecting on the global HIV events from the last three decades. HIV has swept across the globe and support touching communities on every continent. Here’s an introduction to some of the key moments in the early global history of HIV. Catch up on the story using the ‘Recent Posts’ link to the right.
1989: On February 7th, the FDA announced that it was going to approve an aerosol form of the drug Pentamidine for the treatment of PCP (Pneumocystis Pneumonia) AIDS Patents. It’s still in use today for some people with PCP.
By March 1st, 145 countries had reported 142,000 cases of AIDS to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The WHO regarded this as under-reporting, and estimated the actual number of people with AIDS around the world to be over 400,000. It was predicted that this figure would rise to 1.1 million by 1991. It was also estimated that 5-10 million people were already infected with HIV.
Click to read Hans Paul’s letter to the US Government
A Dutch man, Hans Paul Verhoef, was imprisoned in Minnesota, USA because did not declare that he had HIV when he entered the country. Mr. Verhoef landed at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport en route to a gay and lesbian health conference in San Francisco in April 1989.
Supporters intervened in his behalf, and Mr. Verhoef was released after five days and allowed to attend the conference.
In August, results from a major drug trial known as ACTG019 were announced. The trial showed that AZT could slow progression to AIDS in HIV positive individuals with no symptoms. These findings were thought to be extremely positive; on August 17th a press conference was held, at which the Health Secretary, Louis Sullivan said:
“Today we are witnessing a turning point in the battle to change AIDS from a fatal disease to a treatable one.”
The initial optimism was short-lived when the price of the drug was revealed. A year’s supply for one person would cost around $7,000, and many Americans did not have adequate health insurance to cover the cost. Burroughs Wellcome, the makers of AZT, were accused of ‘price gouging and profiteering’. In September, the cost of the drug was cut by 20 percent.
By this time, 100,000 people diagnosed with AIDS had been reported to the CDC. The proportion of AIDS diagnoses among women had increased, and smaller cities and rural areas were increasingly affected.
The television movie “The Ryan White Story” aired. It starred Judith Light as Jeanne, Lukas Haas as Ryan and Nikki Cox as Sister Andrea. Ryan White had a small cameo appearance as Chad, a young patient with AIDS.
Another AIDS-themed film, The Littlest Victims, also debuted in 1989, biopic-ing James Oleske, the first U.S. physician to discover AIDS in new born children during the early years of AIDS when many thought it was only spread by homosexual sex and drug use.
As we prepare to enter our 25th year, we are reflecting on the global HIV events from the last three decades. HIV has swept across the globe and support touching communities on every continent. Here’s an introduction to some of the key moments in the early global history of HIV. Catch up on the story using the ‘Recent Posts’ link to the right.
The first World AIDS Day was observed on 1 December 1988 after being first conceived in August the previous year by James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers for the Global Programme on AIDS at the World Health Organization.
Bunn and Netter took their idea to Dr. Jonathan Mann, Director of the Global Programme on AIDS (now known as UNAIDS). Dr. Mann liked the concept, approved it, and agreed with the recommendation that the first observance of World AIDS Day should be 1 December 1988.
Bunn, a broadcast journalist recommended the date of 1 December believing it would maximize coverage by western news media. Since 1988 was an election year in the U.S., Bunn suggested that media outlets would be weary of their post-election coverage and eager to find a fresh story to cover. Bunn and Netter determined that 1 December was long enough after the election and soon enough before the Christmas holidays that it was, in effect, a dead spot in the news calendar and thus perfect timing for World AIDS Day so as to maximise awareness and to battle stigma.
The aim, simply put is to exploit the best weapon governments have against the ever-growing AIDS epidemic: “information”.
One of the first high profile heterosexual victims of the virus was Arthur Ashe, an American tennis player. He was diagnosed as HIV positive on 31 August 1988, having contracted the virus from blood transfusions during heart surgery earlier in the 1980s. Further tests within 24 hours of the initial diagnosis revealed that Ashe had AIDS, but he did not tell the public about his diagnosis until April 1992.
May, C. Everett Koop sends an eight-page, condensed version of his Surgeon General’s Report on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome report named Understanding AIDS to all 107,000,000 households in the United States, becoming the first federal authority to provide explicit advice to Americans on how to protect themselves from AIDS.
The first intake of volunteers are trained by LASS, as we begin to offer services to people who have HIV and AIDS and their families. The David Manley fund – named after the first person known to have died from AIDS is implemented. The fund provides financial support for people affected by HIV/AIDS in the county. It was launched on 1st December 1988 and is still in operation today. (Click here to support the David Manley fund)
The first drug licensed to treat HIV was Zidovudine, (AZT). Dr. Robert E. Windom, assistant secretary for health at the Health and Human Services Department, emphasized that AZT, to be sold under the trade name Retrovir, is not a cure for AIDS (sic) but he said the action “means that significant medical relief will be available to thousands of those afflicted with this dreaded disease.”
Windom said that licensing of the drug, “Marks an important step but by no means a final victory in our ongoing war against AIDS.” AZT was expected to be expensive, costing each patient as much as $10,000 a year.
Final approval of AZT, first administered to AIDS patients in human studies begun in July, 1985, came in record time, the result of a decision by the Food and Drug Administration to consider AIDS drugs as a top regulatory priority. Typically, the process takes an average of 8½ years from the earliest studies to licensing, AZT smashed this timeframe and was licenced after just 2 years.
Soon after its introduction, activists establish the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) to challenge high drug prices and rally on Wall Street where “17 homosexual-rights protestors” were arrested, charged then released.
The US government closes its country’s borders to HIV-positive immigrants and visitors which eventually lead to many non-profit organisations to boycott the international AIDS conference in San Francisco in 1990. By 1992, the conference moves from Boston to Amsterdam because of America’s border controls.
An advert featuring The Grim Reaper was launched in Australia to warn people about the dangers of HIV was launched by the National Advisory Committee on AIDS (NACAIDS). The advertisement depicted the Grim Reaper in a bowling alley, bowling over various people from men and women to babies and toddlers, knocking over human ‘pins’ which represented people with HIV. The commercial first screened on 5 April 1987 and was highly controversial; one reason is the unfortunate blow to the gay community, which had already taken the lead in AIDS awareness and safe sex practices.
The Grim Reaper became identified with gay men rather than as the Reaper which was unintentional, however viewers believed that the Reaper was people with HIV infection, rather than the Reaper harvesting the dead.
The commercial was widely criticised at the time, but it succeeded in creating widespread discussion about AIDS.
1987 also marked a UK Government Cabinet Committee devoted to combatting the epidemic. £20 million was earmarked for a publicity campaign, £5 million of which was to be spent on television commercials which could be adapted for cinema. The dilemma facing the government and advertising agency was whether to use shock tactics, as recommended by health groups or take heed of moral campaigners like Mary Whitehouse, who called for the promotion of “monogamy, not sexual precautions”. Another contentious issue was whether to overturn the Independent Broadcasting Authority’s restriction on commercials recommending condom use.
The result was a hard-hitting campaign containing apocalyptic images of icebergs, crumbling mountains and falling monoliths crashing on our screens. The aim was to shock people into practising safer sex.
The most remembered of the five advertisements were Tombstone and Iceberg, with their iconic, nightmarish imagery, compounded by John Hurt’s chilling commentary.
The television advertisement campaign was accompanied by educational television and radio programmes on AIDS and related leaflets, bearing the ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’, slogan were sent to every home in the country. (Click the image above for a copy). Despite widespread apprehension, the campaign was later acknowledged that it had been successful in precipitating more open discussion about AIDS in the media.
Although cases of AIDS in the UK had remained low, due in part to high profile campaigns, it had become a global epidemic, by this time, the World Health Organisation had been notified of nearly 44,000 cases of AIDS in 91 countries including the cases first recorded in the Soviet Union.
At a time with high ignorance and constant struggle in the face of stigma and discrimination, most of the population thought you could get AIDS from touching someone or sharing equipment or facilities. This was the experience of Mike Sisco, a gay man with HIV.
Mike simply took a dip in a local swimming pool. Word spread quickly, and by the next day fear, panic and rumours – including one that claimed Mike had spit on food at a grocery store—had forced the pool to be closed and prompted a front-page banner headline in the local newspaper which also made the national news.
Mike says that when he went swimming at the pool, the lifeguard was the first person to recognise him, but soon the other bathers did as well. “They kind of ran like in those science fiction movies where Godzilla walks into the street.”
This wasn’t the first time the community had reacted negatively to seeing Mike in public. He says he returned home after contracting AIDS (sic) while living in Dallas. He says his illness quickly became known in the community through the whispers of small-town gossip. The Opera Winfrey show examed the case in an hour long special filmed at the town hall.
Watch Mike tell Oprah his story in his own words here and read more about it here.
At a time when panic, fear, prejudice, stigma and discrimination were wide spread, people with HIV were often rejected by friends and family, and ostracised by society, there seemed to be little hope of educating socialy. What was needed was a public figure to openly demonstrate that HIV could not be caught by sharing cups, towels or even air and that support came in the form of Princess Diana.
Diane was drawn to people she felt were not treated fairly and did not receive the support they deserved. She understood that people living with HIV were desperately in need of understanding and support and that is why HIV was a cause she supported so passionately.
She knew that her public profile meant any cause she supported would receive enormous public attention and recognition. For this reason, she chose to support causes which were not considered popular and glamorous – as she knew it was these causes she could make a major difference to.
Princess Diana worked tirelessly both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes to support people living with HIV and to change society’s attitude to HIV – whether visiting HIV positive people in hospital, opening wards, attending conferences and events or supporting fundraising initiatives.
Princess Diana’s commitment and dedication to raising the profile of HIV helped challenge the stigma of the virus. She often publically wore a red ribbon and was the first prominent public figure in the UK to be pictured holding the hand of a person with AIDS in his hospital bed. This iconic image was seen by millions all over the world and had an amazing effect in challenging attitudes towards people living with HIV and breaking down stigma and misconceptions.
In Leicester, an initial meeting brings together around 40 people with an interest in practical action to address the issues related around AIDS and HIV. A general meeting adopts a constitution and elects a management committee which carries on the work of an initial steering group forming links with other agencies pursuing funding and seeking premises. The organisation is called: Leicestershire AIDS Support Services.
The Red ribbon is a symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with HIV. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
We are here to to respond to the challenges of HIV, and over the next next few weeks, as we prepare to enter our 25th year, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the past 25 years as HIV and AIDS have swept across the globe, touching communities on every continent. Here’s an introduction to some of the key moments in the early global history of HIV.
On 5 June 1981, the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) published a report describing cases of a rare form of pneumonia among five gay men in Los Angeles. Soon after, there are a number of reports of a rare skin cancer, Kaposi’s sarcoma, increase among gay men living in California and New York.
In 1982, the term A.I.D.S. (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is used for the first time. Prior to this, it was called G.R.I.D. (Gay Related Immune Deficiency) and was associated with homosexuality because it was first documented among gay men in New York and California. It was only in 1983 we began to get evidence that AIDS is caused by a virus (sic), this emerges from the Pasteur Institute in Paris. The US reports that more than 1,200 Americans have been affected by AIDS and more than one-third of them have died.
The number of cases doubles each six months, it is officially an epidemic and the deadliest since swine fever ravaged the US at the end of the first world war.
In Geneva, the World Health Organisation convenes the first meeting to discuss the international implications of AIDS, which has so far been found in dozens of countries, and has now been found in both women and men.
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus was isolated by scientists in the US and France (though it was not formally named as HIV until 1986). Later, a public controversy erupts over who first discovered HIV, and eventually over who would get the Nobel Prize for it.
Along with the discovery of the virus, the first diagnostic blood test, known as the Elisa test, is developed to screen for HIV infection.
This photo of Ryan White was taken in the spring of 1989 at a fund raising event in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ryan White, a haemophiliac teenager who contracted HIV from contaminated blood products in 1985 is barred from school. He soon becomes one of the most bravest, and well-known advocates for AIDS research and awareness in America.
1985 also marks the year that Hollywood actor Rock Hudson dies of an AIDS related illness. He had recently publicly disclosed his AIDS diagnosis.
The first international Aids conference is held in Atlanta, Georgia and 1986 marks the discovery of a second type of HIV, eventually named HIV-2, it’s discovered by US and French research teams. Jon Parker, a former drug user, starts the first needle-exchange programme in the US to combat HIV among intravenous drug users and The World Health Organisation launches the Global Programme on Aids. The programme will later end and be replaced by UNAids, the UN Aids agency.
Stay tuned over the next few days for more information as we reveal more, of the history of HIV and AIDS.
Leicestershire AIDS Support Services (LASS) is extremely honoured to announce Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in the new role of LASS’s International Patron. The Archbishop’s commitment comes as LASS prepares to launch the charity’s 25th Anniversary Year in June.
It is the first time in its history that LASS has sought the support of a patron and the acceptance of this position by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu reflects the extensive variety of challenges that working in HIV presents. Jenny Hand, CEO of LASS, explains:
“For LASS to be supported and valued by a man of such international stature is incredible. The Archbishop’s untiring work in human rights, particularly in Southern Africa, and in the field of HIV/AIDS, together with his extraordinary ability to reach across communities, inspired LASS to approach him. His patronage reflects the diverse range of communities LASS works with and gives us a new sense of purpose and energy. We could not have asked for a better way to mark the launch of our 25th Anniversary Year and embolden our service users, staff and volunteers as we face the challenges that lie ahead.”
In approaching Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu LASS described the charity’s journey, from starting as a struggling telephone help-line in June 1987 for people affected by HIV and AIDS, to becoming Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland’s leading cross-community HIV charity today, currently supporting over 500 people affected by HIV; leading the way with its innovative community Rapid HIV Testing initiative; delivering education and training in sexual health in schools and community settings and challenging the stigma and ignorance that is still attached to HIV.
In accepting the invitation Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu explained that, as a retired octogenarian, he had been reducing his commitments. However, he was touched by LASS’s story and has decided to make an exception, agreeing to be the charity’s International Patron. Patrick Bowe, Chair of the LASS Board of Trustees comments:
“This is also a very positive reflection on our home of Leicester, which the Archbishop is already familiar with through the University of Leicester. The extraordinary diversity of the city’s communities, the work done in the city to maintain community harmony and LASS’s commitment to working across faiths and communities were also drawn to the Archbishop’s attention. It is for these reasons also that LASS believes no better figure could have been welcomed as our International Patron than Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.”
LASS will be launching its 25th Anniversary Year with an Anniversary Boat Race in Humberstone Gate, Leicester City Centre, on 9 June. This event will reflect the fact that in 25 years the reality of HIV in the UK has changed enormously and it is possible, with early diagnosis, to live a long, healthy and active life with HIV. It will be the first in a number of initiatives throughout the coming year. The Anniversary Boat Race will also reflect the fact that HIV affects everyone, no matter which community or world continent they are from, and is something to address rather than shy away from.
A new research report appearing in the March 2012 issue of the journal GENETICS shows why the development of a cure and new treatments for HIV has been so difficult. In the report, an Australian scientist explains how he used computer simulations to discover that a population starting from a single human immunodeficiency virus can evolve fast enough to escape immune defenses. These results are novel because the discovery runs counter to the commonly held belief that evolution under these circumstances is very slow.
“I believe the search for a cure for AIDS has failed so far because we do not fully understand how HIV evolves,” said Jack da Silva, Ph.D., author of the study from the School of Molecular and Biomedical Science at the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, Australia. “Further insight into the precise genetic mechanisms by which the virus manages to so readily adapt to all the challenges we throw at it will, hopefully, lead to novel strategies for vaccines and other control measures.”
To make this discovery, da Silva used computer simulation to determine whether, under realistic conditions, the virus could evolve as rapidly as had been reported if the virus population started from a single individual virus. This was done by constructing a model of the virus population and then simulating the killing of virus-infected cells by the immune system, along with mutation, recombination and random genetic changes, due to a small population size, affecting viral genes. Results showed that for realistic rates of cell killing, mutation and recombination, and a realistic population size, that the virus could evolve very rapidly even if the initial population size is one.
“A cure for HIV/AIDS has been elusive, and this report sheds light on the reason,” said Mark Johnston, Editor-in-Chief of the journal GENETICS. “Now that we know HIV rapidly evolves, even when its population size is small, we may be able to interfere with its ability to evolve so we can get the most out of the treatments that are developed.”
HIV inside a host cell (Image: National Academy of Sciences)
The tactics that HIV uses to infect cells have been visualised in greater detail than ever before, thanks to a microscopy technique that allows even structures within viruses to be seen.
Conventional light microscopes cannot resolve structures that are smaller than about 200 nanometres because they are limited by the wavelength of visible light. Viruses, which typically measure 25 to 300 nm, are just too small to see.
One way around this has been to tag proteins with fluorescent markers, activate them one at a time, and then map the locations of all these markers into a composite image. Markers can interfere with protein function, though, making it difficult to study proteins in action.
Nathalie Arhel at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and her colleagues have modified this technique and inserted a six-amino-acid motif into the enzyme that HIV uses to integrate its DNA into its host’s genome. The motif is too short to affect the enzyme’s function, but long enough to bind to a fluorescent marker molecule.
They used the technique to take a closer look at HIV. Previously, it was unclear whether the virus’s genetic material is released into the cytoplasm of the host cell, or whether it remains in a container called a capsid until reaching the cell’s nucleus. The technique has revealed that it remains in the capsid – information that may provide opportunities for targeting the virus before it integrates its DNA.
Start Sunday well: 8.30am BBC Radio #Leicester;11am #TheEye 103FM - chatting about new Int. Patron #Tutu &; our HIV work. Via@bluesmartie99 9 hours ago
