Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS is a lethal disease. It brings those who are so afflicted face to face with the ultimate reality of death. All of the emotion of denial, anger, and fear are present, but there is more. The emotional, spiritual, and physical needs of AIDS victims and their families are unusually pressing. What has almost always been deemed a "death sentence," AIDS has touched the lives of millions, and taken half as many. The disease that once possessed the lives of those infected has since become a virus that cannot be cured, but no longer will eradicate each individual so unfortunate as to acquire AIDS.

There is no known origin of AIDS. People have been obtaining and hiding AIDS for years, with deaths being recorded as one of the many symptoms of the disease. It can be traced back as far as Africa, where a species of green monkey is known to carry the virus. It is believed that it was then transmitted to the inhabitants of a nearby tribe. At that time, the only laborin

Dekker, Diana. Shrugging AIDS. New Zealand: The Press, p17. 24 Feb 2001.

g workers were men, and a group of these people came from Haiti to work on a project and returned home, along with the disease. Soon after, gay communities from New York and Florida took leisure and vacation trip to Haiti, thus acquiring the virus. Hence, AIDS has come to America through the gay male community. (Hay, 13-14)

Hay, Louise L. The AIDS Book: Creating a Positive Approach. Santa Monica, CA: Hay

e AIDS. But, if the virus kills all of the T4 lymphocytes, AIDS is diagnosed. (Hay, 17)

As time proceeded, more studies were being made as to how to prevent acquiring AIDS. During the middle 1980s, no known cure or vaccination existed, and it was decided that the best way to avoid obtaining AIDS was to avoid it. To implement this into society, state and local health departments instituted blood screening at donating facilities. Unfortunately, it was not required and many places did not institute the procedure. (McCuen, 56) Again, public officials came together to consider the issue. Many gay men continued to donate blood, and much of the blood was contaminated with AIDS. On January 11, 1985, the Public Health Service issued a screen test that all facilities must use. Donors were informed that all blood would be tested for AIDS, and those infected would be confidentially notified. (Bayer, 93)

E. McCuen Publications, Inc., 1987.

McCuen, Gary E. The AIDS Crisis: Conflicting Social Values. Hudson, Wisconsin: Gary

When AIDS became a prominent problem in the United States, little was known. New cases were being diagnosed daily, most of them young, gay men. Many of these men were dying rapidly after diagnosis from different symptoms. (Kubler-Ross, 14) The first official reports were made in the summer of 1981. Between 1981 and 1987, 15,000 new cases were reported, with 52% resulting in death. (McCuen, 9)

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Medical Journal Publishing Co. Inc., 1994.

Made at a time when just over 20,000 cases had been counted, the projections foretold a staggering set of events within the next years. With no anticipated breakthrough, the development of a vaccine capable of protecting the uninfected, or a therapy capable of preventing viral replication in those already infected, the statistics of 1986 thus carried a grim message. The vast anticipated suffering and death seemed to be inevitable. What the more remote future might look like was more difficult to foretell, depending very much on the pace of scientific progress and on the success of efforts to slow the rate of new infection. A challenge that seemed never to be overcome has been met, thus limiting the toll of the epidemic in the years ahead.

Some common words found in the essay are:
AIDS America, Health Service, HIV AIDS, Francisco York, AIDS Interleukin-2, Syndrome AIDS, Mortality Weekly, AIDS People, IMREG-1 Inosiplex, , safe sex, immune system, restore immune system, aids patients, acquiring virus, aids deaths, lethal disease, aids people, aids victims, british medical journal, prolong life, key 9,
Approximate Word count = 2173
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)