campaign on AIDS, with the slogan "Don't Aid AID

1986 History

In the UK the first needle exchange scheme started in Dundee ¹¹⁸ and the AIDS charity AVERT was also started.

In the UK, the government launched, in March, the first public information campaign on AIDS, with the slogan "Don't Aid AIDS". There were a series of advertisements in national newspapers.¹¹⁹

There was still at this time disagreement about the name of the virus.

"The name of the virus had itself become a political football as the French insisted on LAV (lymphadenopathy-associated virus), while Gallo's group used HTLV-3 (human T-cell lymphotropic virus, type 3)."Time Magazine ¹²⁰

In May 1986, the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses ruled that both names should be dropped and the dispute solved by a new name, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).¹²¹

At the opening speech of the International Conference in Paris, held from 23rd to 25th June 1986, Dr H Mahler, the Director of WHO, announced that as many as 10 million people worldwide could already be infected with HIV.¹²²

In August, the USA Federal Government accused an employer of illegal discrimination against a person with AIDS for the first time. A hospital had dismissed a nurse and refused to offer him an alternative job. This was seen as a violation of his civil rights.¹²³

In September there was dramatic progress in the provision of medical treatment for AIDS, when early results of clinical tests showed that a drug called azidothymidine (AZT) slowed down the attack of HIV. AZT was first synthesised in 1964 as a possible anticancer drug but it proved ineffective.

The AZT clinical trial divided patients into two groups: one received AZT and the other received placebo, or dummy drugs. At the end of six months, only one patient in the AZT group was dead, whilst there were 19 deaths among the placebo group. The clinical trial was stopped early, because it was thought to be unethical to deny the patients of the placebo groups a better chance of survival.¹²⁴

Surgeon General's Report on AIDS

"The announcement set off a flurry of excitement and controversy. AIDS hotlines and doctors' offices were flooded with calls, community leaders warned about undue optimism, and doctors debated the ethical and medical issues raised by the early cancellation of the AZT study."Time Magazine ¹²⁵

In the United States, the Surgeon General's Report on AIDS was published. The report was the Government's first major statement on what the nation should do to prevent the spread of AIDS. The "unusually explicit" report urged parents and schools to start "frank, open discussions" about AIDS.¹²⁶

By this time, scientists had accumulated enough evidence to form an overview of AIDS in Africa. Studies of medical records showed there had been marked increases in a number of AIDS-related conditions during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In particular:

• Slim disease in Kinshasa, Zaire (late 1970s)
• Slim disease in Uganda and Tanzania (early 1980s)
• Esophagel candidiasis in Rwanda (from 1983)
• Aggressive Kaposi's sarcoma in Kinshasa, Zaire (early 1980s)
• Aggressive Kaposi's sarcoma in Zambia and Uganda (from 1982 and 1983)
• Crypotococcal meningitis in Kinshasa, Zaire (late 1970s to early 1980s).

In conclusion:

"These studies suggested that while isolated cases of AIDS may have occurred in Africa earlier, it was probably rare until the late 1970's and early 1980's, a pattern similar to that in the United States and Haiti."¹²⁷

As in developed countries, AIDS in Africa was found to primarily affect young and middle-aged people, especially those who were unmarried. The sex and age distributions were seen to reflect other sexually transmitted diseases, and the major transmission routes had been identified:

"Available data suggest that heterosexual activity, blood transfusions, vertical transmission from mother to infant, and probably frequent exposure to unsterilized needles account for the spread of HIV infection and AIDS in Africa."¹²⁸

HIV and AIDS had also been detected in India, among sex workers in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, igniting fears that the disease would soon spread across the subcontinent. In response, the Indian government decided to increase the number of HIV testing centres and improve the screening of blood donations.¹²⁹

By the end of the year, 85 countries had reported 38,401 cases of AIDS to the World Health Organisation. By region these were: Africa 2,323, Americas 31,741, Asia 84, Europe 3,858, and Oceania 395.