1984 — HIV AIDS, New York City (952), U.S. –3,578

–4,096 amfAR. Thirty Years of HIV/AIDS: Snapshots of an Epidemic. 2020.*
— 952 Condran. “Changing Patterns of Epidemic Disease in New York City,” p. 38 in Rosner.

*Our number based on amfAR report of 2,118 deaths by end of 1983 and 5,596 cumulative for the end of the year 1984. We subtracted 2,118 from 5,596 to derive 3,578.

Narrative Information

CDC: “HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is the virus that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS if not treated. Unlike some other viruses, the human body can’t get rid of HIV completely, even with treatment. So once you get HIV, you have it for life. HIV attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells (T cells), which help the immune system fight off infections. Untreated, HIV reduces the number of CD4 cells (T cells) in the body, making the person more likely to get other infections or infection-related cancers. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections and disease. These opportunistic infections or cancers take advantage of a very weak immune system and signal that the person has AIDS, the last stage of HIV infection.

“No effective cure currently exists, but with proper medical care, HIV can be controlled. The medicine used to treat HIV is called antiretroviral therapy or ART. If people with HIV take ART as prescribed, their viral load (amount of HIV in their blood) can become undetectable. If it stays undetectable, they can live long, healthy lives and have effectively no risk of transmitting HIV to an HIV-negative partner through sex. Before the introduction of ART in the mid-1990s, people with HIV could progress to AIDS in just a few years. Today, someone diagnosed with HIV and treated before the disease is far advanced can live nearly as long as someone who does not have HIV.” (CDC. About HIC/AIDS. 12-2-2019.)

Sources

amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research). Thirty Years of HIV/AIDS: Snapshots of an Epidemic. 2020. Accessed 4-1-2020 at: https://www.amfar.org/thirty-years-of-hiv/aids-snapshots-of-an-epidemic/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About HIC/AIDS. 12-2-2019. Accessed 3-31-2020 at: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/whatishiv.html

Condran, Gretchen A. “Changing Patterns of Epidemic Disease in New York City,” pp. 27-41 in:
Rosner, David (Ed.). Hives of Sickness: Public Health and Epidemics in New York City. Rutgers University Press, 1991, 236 pages. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed 3-29-2018 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=o34QxI6lHwAC&pg=PA70&dq=1916+Polio+Epidemic&ei=Cy5DSZWvMIXAMpqalOYN#PPP7,M1