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University of California Press

About the Book

When AIDS was first recognized in 1981, most experts believed that it was a plague, a virulent unexpected disease. They thought AIDS, as a plague, would resemble the great epidemics of the past: it would be devastating but would soon subside, perhaps never to return. By the middle 1980s, however, it became increasingly clear that AIDS was a chronic infection, not a classic plague.

In this follow-up to AIDS: The Burdens of History, editors Elizabeth Fee and Daniel M. Fox present essays that describe how AIDS has come to be regarded as a chronic disease. Representing diverse fields and professions, the twenty-three contributors to this work use historical methods to analyze politics and public policy, human rights issues, and the changing populations with HIV infection. They examine the federal government's testing of drugs for cancer and HIV, and show how the policy makers' choice of a specific historical model (chronic disease versus plague) affected their decisions. A powerful photo essay reveals the strengths of women from various backgrounds and lifestyles who are coping with HIV. A sensitive account of the complex relationships of the gay community to AIDS is included. Finally, several contributors provide a sampling of international perspectives on the impact of AIDS in other nations.


When AIDS was first recognized in 1981, most experts believed that it was a plague, a virulent unexpected disease. They thought AIDS, as a plague, would resemble the great epidemics of the past: it would be devastating but would soon subside, perhaps neve

About the Author

Elizabeth Fee is Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at the School of Public Health at The Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Daniel M. Fox is President of the Milbank Memorial Fund and Professor of Social Sciences in Medicine at the State University of New York, Stonybrook.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Contemporary Historiography of AIDS
Elizabeth Fee and Daniel M. Fox

PART I. THE VIRUS AND ITS PUBLICS

AIDS and Beyond: Defining the Rules for Viral Traffic
Stephen S. Morse
Causes, Cases, and Cohorts: The Role of Epidemiology
in the Historical Construction of AIDS
Gerald M. Oppenheimer
The Mass-Mediated Epidemic: The Politics of AIDS on
the Nightly Network News
Timothy E. Cook and David C. Colby

PART II. LAW, ETHICS, AND PUBLIC POLICY

The Politics of HIV Infection: 1989-1990 as Years of
Change
Daniel M. Fox
The AIDS Litigation Project: A National Review of Court
and Human Rights Commission Decisions on Discrimination
Larry Costin
The History of Transfusion AIDS: Practice and Policy
Alternatives
Harvey M. Sapo/sky and Stephen L. Boswell
Scientific Rigor and Medical Realities: Placebo Trials in
Cancer and AIDS Research
David]. Rothman and Harold Edgar
Entering the Second Decade: The Politics of Prevention,
the Politics of Neglect
Ronald Bayer

PART III. AFFECTED POPULATIONS

Until That Last Breath: Women with AIDS
Ann Meredith
Riding the Tiger: AIDS and the Gay Community
Robert A. Padgug and Gerald M. Oppenheimer
The First City: HIV among Intravenous Drug Users in
New York City
Don C. Des ]arlais, Samuel R. Friedman, and ]o L.
Sotheran

PART IV. INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

AIDS Policies in the United Kingdom: A Preliminary
Analysis
Virginia Berridge and Philip Strong
Foreign Blood and Domestic Politics: The Issue of AIDS
in Japan
James W. Dearing
Medical Research on AIDS in Africa: A Historical
Perspective
Randall M. Packard and Paul Epstein
AIDS and HIV Infection in the Third World: A First
World Chronicle
Paula A. Treichler

Notes on Contributors
Index
Contents