RANT & CHAT - No Politics

[trkyhntr]

Andre was the first person to bring AIDS into the western hemisphere, sox. Andre was not his real name. His given name was Gaetan Dugas, but he went by the nickname 'Andre', and he was a flight attendant who travelled extensively and spread the virus in several US and Canadian cities. He was a Canadian citizen.
Here is a site that gives a bit of history for the disease:
http://www.aegis.com/topics/timeline/default.asp

For a bit more on Gaetan Dugas and his role, try this link:
http://history.acusd.edu/gen/text/aids.html

When AIDS first appeared in the US, it was referred to as 'Gay Cancer.' The reason for this was that it was almost exclusively a disease of the gay community. It was not until some years later that it became an epidemiological problem among heterosexuals. The fact that it was primarily a disease of gays is one reason why AIDS is treated differently than is any other reportable disease. You can look this one up. Because epidemiologists are not permitted to ask about contacts and can't isolate those diagnosed with it, we have an epidemic that seems to be unstoppable. When we finally start treating AIDS like a disease and not a social stigma, we might just start making progress toward containing and eliminating it. The tragedy of AIDS is that it is completely and totally preventable. You can look that up also.

Chances are that if we had treated AIDS in the same manner as we treated tuberculosis and leprosy, it would be far less of a problem than it is today. In Africa, for example, some governments refuse to admit that AIDS is sexually transmitted, stating that this is an attempt to impose population control on blacks. You can look that one up, too.