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The early days of the HIV-AIDS epidemic in the USA

Nature Immunology volume 9, pages 1201–1203 (2008)Cite this article

The work of epidemiologists before the isolation of human immunodeficiency virus 25 years ago demonstrates the power of the epidemiological method to gain an understanding of disease pathogenesis.

Although the importance of this discovery cannot be underestimated, it is also important to understand the epidemiological work that preceded the discovery. It was this work that established AIDS as being most likely caused by a transmissible agent, defined the transmission routes of the agent, suggested its natural history and also provided the basis for initial prevention guidelines. As a participant in this early work, I am pleased to have the opportunity to describe some of it as both history and an illustration of the power of the epidemiological method to gain understanding of a new disease in the absence of an identified cause.

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Figure 1: Cluster of AIDS cases for patients linked by sexual contact.

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  1. Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK

    Harold W Jaffe

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  1. Harold W Jaffe
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Jaffe, H. The early days of the HIV-AIDS epidemic in the USA. Nat Immunol 9, 1201–1203 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni1108-1201

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