Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome(AIDS): A Late-Twentieth- Century Infectious Disease

     Prior to 1981, it was generally believed that medical science in industrialized countries had advanced to the point where infections and infectious diseases were no longer a threat. For one thing, several effective antibiotics were available. Penicillin and related antibiotic drugs (e.g., ampicillin) that destroy bacteria—as well as newer, more powerful, antibiotics— were able to tame infections that had been at one time life-threatening diseases (e.g., tuberculosis, pneumonia, and syphilis). In addition, strep throat (an infection caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes), common ear infections, and dermatologic (skin) infections could all be handled by a 7- or 10-day course of antibiotics taken at home in the form of pills, a liquid solution, or ear drops.

     Other antimicrobial drugs to fight microorganisms other than bacteria were available or would be soon. For example, antiviral drugs that attack viruses were just coming to the fore in the early 1980s. The antiviral drug acyclovir, in particular, was almost revered as a wonder drug by physicians and medical researchers. Acyclovir could halt the herpes viruses that cause cold sores, chicken pox, and genital herpes, leading to the disappearance of outward signs of infection. Just prior to 1981, newly discovered antifungals were found capable of inhibiting the growth of yeast and molds responsible for fungal infections that affected diabetics, organ or bone marrow transplantation recipients, and frail elderly patients.