Timeline of early AIDS cases
Encyclopedia
This article is a timeline of early AIDS
cases.
An AIDS case is classified as "early" if the death occurred before 18 June 1981, when the AIDS epidemic was formally recognized by medical professionals in the United States.
printer (usually referred to, mistakenly, as a sailor) who died in October 1959 following the failure of his immune system
; he succumbed to pneumonia
. Doctors, baffled by what he had died from, preserved 50 of his tissue samples for inspection. In 1990, the tissues were found to be HIV-positive. However, in 1992, a second test by AIDS researcher David Ho found that the strain of HIV
present in the tissues was similar to those found in the late 1980s rather than an earlier strain (which would have mutated considerably over the course of 30 years). Ho's discovery has cast doubt on David Carr's death being caused by AIDS.
A possible case was detected of a death on June 28, 1959, in Ardouin Antonio, a 49-year-old Jamaica
n from Haiti who in 1927 had emigrated to the United States and at the time of death was working as a shipping clerk for a garment manufacturer in Manhattan
. He developed similar symptoms to those just described for the British printer, and died the same year, apparently of the same very rare kind of pneumonia. Many years later, Dr. Gordon R. Hennigar, who had performed this man's autopsy, was asked whether he thought his patient had died of AIDS; he replied "You bet ... It was so unusual at the time. Lord knows how many cases of AIDS have been autopsied that we didn't even know had AIDS. I think it's such a strong possibility that I've often thought about getting them to send me the tissue samples."
, a 15-year-old male who died in 1969.
: A Norwegian
sailor and truck driver, who was probably infected in Cameroon
some time between 1961 and 1965, and died in 1976. Tissues of Noe, his wife and daughter all tested positive for HIV in an epidemiology study in 1988.
: A Danish
surgeon who traveled to Zaire
in 1972 to aid the sick. She was likely directly exposed to blood from many Congolese patients, one of whom infected her. She returned to Denmark
in late 1976, with her colleagues baffled by her symptoms. She died in December 1977. Her tissues were examined and tested positive by her colleagues in 1984.
man who is the first confirmed case of HIV-2. He was believed to have been exposed to the disease in Guinea-Bissau
in 1966. He was treated at the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases by Professor Anthony Bryceson until finally succumbing to the disease in 1978.
Also, three cases among gay men in California and six cases among Haiti
an immigrants to the United States were confirmed.
, so-called "Patient Zero", was a flight attendant who had over 2,500 sexual partners across North America. At least 40 of the 248 people diagnosed with AIDS by April 1982 were thought to have had sex either with him or with someone who had. Dugas refused to stop having unprotected sex after being diagnosed, and allegedly informed some of his sex partners that he had the "gay cancer" and perhaps they would get it too.
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
cases.
An AIDS case is classified as "early" if the death occurred before 18 June 1981, when the AIDS epidemic was formally recognized by medical professionals in the United States.
1959
David Carr: (incorrectly thought to be a documented AIDS case.) A ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
printer (usually referred to, mistakenly, as a sailor) who died in October 1959 following the failure of his immune system
Immune system
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
; he succumbed to pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Doctors, baffled by what he had died from, preserved 50 of his tissue samples for inspection. In 1990, the tissues were found to be HIV-positive. However, in 1992, a second test by AIDS researcher David Ho found that the strain of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
present in the tissues was similar to those found in the late 1980s rather than an earlier strain (which would have mutated considerably over the course of 30 years). Ho's discovery has cast doubt on David Carr's death being caused by AIDS.
A possible case was detected of a death on June 28, 1959, in Ardouin Antonio, a 49-year-old Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n from Haiti who in 1927 had emigrated to the United States and at the time of death was working as a shipping clerk for a garment manufacturer in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. He developed similar symptoms to those just described for the British printer, and died the same year, apparently of the same very rare kind of pneumonia. Many years later, Dr. Gordon R. Hennigar, who had performed this man's autopsy, was asked whether he thought his patient had died of AIDS; he replied "You bet ... It was so unusual at the time. Lord knows how many cases of AIDS have been autopsied that we didn't even know had AIDS. I think it's such a strong possibility that I've often thought about getting them to send me the tissue samples."
1969
Robert Rayford: The first confirmed case of AIDS in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a 15-year-old male who died in 1969.
1976
Arvid NoeArvid Noe
Arvid Noe is the alias of a Norwegian sailor who is the first person known to have contracted HIV and died from AIDS outside of the United States. He is the second person confirmed to have died from AIDS, after the teenager known as Robert R., from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1969.-Biography:Noe...
: A Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
sailor and truck driver, who was probably infected in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
some time between 1961 and 1965, and died in 1976. Tissues of Noe, his wife and daughter all tested positive for HIV in an epidemiology study in 1988.
1977
Grethe RaskGrethe Rask
Margrethe P. Rask , better known as Grethe Rask, was a Danish physician and surgeon who practiced medicine in what was then known as Zaïre...
: A Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
surgeon who traveled to Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
in 1972 to aid the sick. She was likely directly exposed to blood from many Congolese patients, one of whom infected her. She returned to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in late 1976, with her colleagues baffled by her symptoms. She died in December 1977. Her tissues were examined and tested positive by her colleagues in 1984.
1978
Senhor José (English: Mr. Joseph): A PortuguesePortuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
man who is the first confirmed case of HIV-2. He was believed to have been exposed to the disease in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
in 1966. He was treated at the London Hospital for Tropical Diseases by Professor Anthony Bryceson until finally succumbing to the disease in 1978.
Also, three cases among gay men in California and six cases among Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an immigrants to the United States were confirmed.
1979
Herbert Heinrich: Bisexual German concert violinist, who died in 1979. Tests in 1989 found that he was HIV-positive, and there has been speculation that he was infected by a prostitute who was infected by Noe, but as of 1997, this has not been proven.1980
Gaëtan DugasGaëtan Dugas
Gaëtan Dugas was a Canadian who worked for Air Canada as a flight attendant. Dugas became notorious as the alleged patient zero for AIDS, though he is now more accurately regarded as one of many highly sexually active men who spread AIDS widely before the disease was identified.-Patient Zero...
, so-called "Patient Zero", was a flight attendant who had over 2,500 sexual partners across North America. At least 40 of the 248 people diagnosed with AIDS by April 1982 were thought to have had sex either with him or with someone who had. Dugas refused to stop having unprotected sex after being diagnosed, and allegedly informed some of his sex partners that he had the "gay cancer" and perhaps they would get it too.
External links
- Cribb, Julian, The White Death, Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1996