Patient Zero Summary

As decades pass, it becomes evident that medical research plays a vital role in saving lives and containing deadly epidemics. Without the advancement of modern medicine, these lethal diseases could undeniably erase mankind in its entirety. AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, was the fire that medical researchers were trying to contain since the first reported case of AIDS swept across American headlines on June 5, 1981 (“Timeline”). As mentioned in the Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” AIDS played an influential role in shaping modern medicine and treatment. Acquired immune deficiency puzzled researchers from the start, however, physicians discovered the origin, method of transfer, treatment, and containment methods for

In the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” FRONTLINE examines the outbreak of AIDS since its first diagnosed case in 1981. The film investigates different medical, political and social environments under AIDS pandemic in the US and worldwide. The film not only focuses on the scientific research and progress in treating the disease, it also looks at the social stigma, government strategies and public campaigns around different countries.

One important scene in the film ‘The Age of Aids’ is “Port Au Prince, Haiti”. In this scene it outlines the conditions in Haiti, which were very poor and it turn left the city defenseless against the new disease. In 70’s and 80’s the disease began to be seen by doctors and priests who were being sought after to cure a unseen disease which left the people with the “look of death, [making them] so skinny you could see their bones”. The scene then goes on to take a look at one of the first HIV clinics in Port Au Prince, which was opened in the roughest parts of town. One of the surprising things that this clinic found when they were looking at the patients coming in was that the mean they were analyzing had more

Carl Zimmer the guest speaker of this broadcast states that in 1981 doctors described for the first time a new disease, a new syndrome which affected mostly homosexual men. The young men in Los Angeles were dying and the number of cases was growing faster and faster. The number of deaths was increasing from eighty to six hundred and twenty five in just the first few months. After the first few cases in LA, AIDS was declared to be one of the deadliest pandemics the world had ever seen after the plague in the Middle Ages.

When the AIDS and HIV virus crept its way into the human-race, it quickly, and without warning, claimed the lives of millions. Then when its destructive wake had finally been abated, it left behind several untold mysteries. Throughout the course of this class, all the new material we have been exposed to has added some unique piece to the puzzle of the AIDS epidemic. Each puzzle pieces have ranged from speculations on how the AIDS epidemic had begun, to what exactly has the epidemic done. We have also tackled the question and how it forced a change in society. Our newest piece of the puzzle is the documentary “The Age of AIDS,” by William Cran. Although this documentary did not surprise me in its content, it did, however, affirm certain types

According to a report published in the February 1998 edition of “Nature”, scientists identified what they believe is the earliest case of AIDs in a man from the Congo in 1959. (Lerner and Hombs 39) By the end of the year 1980, 80 men would have been diagnosed with at least of the opportunistic infections that are a characteristic of AIDs. (Lerner and Hombs 40) AIDs cases in the 1980s increased dramatically not only around the world but in the United States, primarily in larger cities like Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. The numbers of AIDs diagnoses and deaths spiraled out of control throughout the 1980s and towards the end of 1989 there were 117,500 cases of AIDS reported and 89,000 related deaths.(Lerner and Hombs 54) In the

It is believed that the first case of HIV/AIDs was first recorded somewhere in West Africa somewhere in the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then, it has spread across central Africa, undetected for a long time. But the question that has bewildered many, is how HIV spread in the first place. According to “Natural Transfer Theory”, HIV was spread to humans through chimpanzees. “Africans have been killing and eating monkey for at least fifty thousand years” (43). It was common for small African communities to hunt and eat chimpanzees. Chimpanzees were said to have “SIVs, simian immunodeficiency viruses that closely resembles HIV” (41). The virus is said to have spread to humans through these infected chimpanzees. The blood of these chimpanzees could have

In the 1980s, a mysterious disease began to take the lives of Americans. With the cause unknown, a fear grew among Americans. An unusually high rate of people was becoming sick with strange and rare diseases. When experimental treatments failed to work, people died. This mysterious disease is what we now know as HIV–Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In the past thirty-five years, the HIV has taken many turns in history. Although we do not hear about HIV and AIDS now, it is still a prevalent issue in the United States and in the world.

Originally, it Napoleon Bonaparte of the Napoleonic Wars, Adolf Hitler of the Holocaust, and then Gaëtan Dugas of the AIDS Epidemic. However, one, of these men was falsely accused for being the starting point for the death of revolting amounts of people. This man is Gaëtan Dugas who is also infamously known as Patient Zero. The “Patient Zero” story initially portrayed Dugas as the man who single handedly springing forth the AIDS epidemic. This in turn lead to the viral massacre of millions of people. Over the course of this class, however, we have learned how to decipher between the fabricated accounts of history and the irrefutable truth of reality. The analysis of both sides of the spectrum really opened my eyes to the whole Dugas situation, and showed me how imperative it is to have all the pieces of one story before making any judgment. This is also why I enjoyed reading and listening to the three sources that were given to us in class. These three sources are the article, “Patient Zero: The Absence of the Patient’s View of Eearly North American AIDS Epidemic,” by Richard A. McKay, the podcast “Patient Zero” by Radio Lab, and the science article “’Patient Zero’ No More,” by Jon Cohen. These sources gave me tremendous insight into the “Patient Zero” situation and really revealed more truthfulness to the matter.

“The monsters that rose from the dead, they are nothing compared to the ones we carry in our hearts” (Brooks 252). Max Brooks, the author of the book World War Z breaks down that there is a possibility for humans to become zombies. In World War Z and Wastelands: The End of the World as We Know It both apocalyptic stories set the setting in extreme and lonely places. The characters in the novels educate themselves to survive the world during an apocalypse. People are constantly running, crying, fighting, or shooting. The authors point out that if we take a closer look there are many possibilities to which an apocalypse could happen, however, the origin of the outbreak is unknown. Zombies are just metaphors used in novels, games,

In 1920 a disease would enter the world in change lives of many people around the world. The most powerful scientists and researchers tired to find answers regarding the strange disease but unfortunately they will spend years with unanswered questions. In this research paper, I decided to look back and discuss evidence about the origin of HIV, and find out where, how, and when the disease first began to cause illness in humans. However, this paper will mainly focus on how HIV impacts the community worldwide.

Tananarative , Patient Zero I walked out of the doors and the parking lot was so quiet I couldn't hear a thing. I walked a bit further and passed cars with broken windows and flat tires and no one in sight. My stomachs began to rumble . I'm really hungry. I have to find food quick. I walked upon a convient store. The convient store had a bunch of food. I grabbed a big basket from the front and started to drop things inside . Things I'd liked , things for Mrs.Manigat and Nurse Rene and Dr. Ben . I'm pretty sure that's why no one was in the hospital with me . They went to find food. I wish we all had phones for me to be able to tell them that Ive found food. I gather all the drinks no food that I could fit inside my basket and started walking

The film And the Band Played On shows the drastic increase of Aids most especially among the gay community which poses many questions. The purpose of the film’s research is to conduct studies in order to note the cause and the spread of the disease in the western developed countries (‘Plot Summary’, 2015). The primary research questions evidently presented in the film And the Band Played On, involve; what causes Aids in the society? How the disease is transmitted from one person to another?

In July of 1981, a rare form of cancer was killing gay men in New York and California. This new, deadly homosexual disease would come to be known as AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. In the decade or so that followed, as it became clear that this was not merely gay disease, but a disease that affected, women, hemophiliacs and children, the government reacted with indifference. This led those affected to fight for recognition and for treatment options.

This paper breaks down and defines what SIV is, the different subfields involved, and which species they originate from. The zoonotic transmission of the SIV virus from these non-human primates is discussed as well. As a result of these transmissions, the human immunodeficiency virus is brought to life. In this paper, this virus and its journey throughout history will be explained. Also, HIV and the different subfields this virus can be classified in are discussed throughout the research. As well as the where this virus was contracted, about the time when, and how it was possible. Also, the modern day methods of contracting this virus are listed in detail throughout the paper. The process of contraction of HIV through zoonotic transmissions is elaborated. An estimate on just how many of these animal-to-human transmissions that happened leading to HIV/AIDS is given. Lastly, the causes of how this virus was spread globally are broken down and explained each step of the way. This paper uses scholarly journals as references from a few different sources, including: Proquest, Academic OneFile, and Google Scholar.