Hiv Aids Dbq

In 1962, the criteria for the historical analysis of scientific developments was established; scientific development is not completely gradual and consecutive, but instead characterized by periods of steady progress that are interrupted by scientific revolutions of thought and changes in what was held to be fundamentally true (Kuhn). These significant changes are caused by a crisis that lead to solutions for pressing current problems; in this way the aids crisis acted as a catalyst, for it gave the scientific community the necessary push to investigate the nature of retroviruses. Before this point, significant process had been made; Ellermann and Bang (1908) isolated the first oncogenic retroviruses. Temin and Rubin (1958) were able to describe
the process of viral transformation and from this, scientists were able to discover that DNA is translated into RNA through a process involving several enzymes, most notably reverse transcriptase. Later in 1967, a virus-coded RNA polymerase was discovered, demonstrating that viruses can carry essential nucleic acid synthesizing enzymes required for the initiation of viral growth (NCBI). The HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980’s revolutionized how we understand the function of retroviruses, helping to found the scientific discipline of modern retrovirology, and also caused a widespread change in society as to how we respond to underprivileged communities that are victims of a disease.
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks one’s immune system by infecting and deactivating the CD4+ white blood cells; the final step of infection is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV targets the CD4+ white blood cells of the immune system, lysing the host cells as they finish their replication cycle. The virus is characterized by the genetic code recorded as RNA (as opposed to living organisms who utilize DNA) and molecules of the enzyme reverse transcriptase, enclosed in a protein capsid. This capsid is encased in a membrane embedded with glycoproteins taken from host cells (Figure 1). The white blood cells, the security guards of the immune system, recognize foreign antigens present on the surface of pathogens; however, because HIV adapts the external proteins of its host cell, the virus is able to infect any cells (primarily the CD4+ white blood cells) without detection. Another barrier to the detection of HIV lies in the replication of its genetic code by reverse transcriptase. In the normal DNA replication process, several enzymes are used to ‘proofread’ the replication template of RNA that was made by reverse transcriptase; however in RNA replication there are no proofreading enzymes so the virus maintains a high level of mutation as it spreads throughout the immune system. These mutations prevent the body from developing an immunity to HIV because faster that specific HIV white blood cells are produced, new HIV mutations evolve that cannot be recognized by the immune system (Reece). As the HIV infection progresses, it develops into the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); “defined as either a CD4+ T cell count below 200 cells per µL or the occurrence of specific diseases in association with an HIV infection” (Wikipedia). AIDS is regarded as the gradual physical breakdown of the body, one previously undaunted by disease, under the onslaught of weak bacterial strains because of the weakened state of the immune system caused by HIV. Without the public health crisis of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, what we now regard as modern retrovirology; the study of "transmission and pathogenesis in the patient, cell biology and genetics of infection, and molecular mechanisms of replication, of viral gene expression, and of virion assembly and release" (NCBI), would be nonexistent. Due to the asymptomatic nature of the HIV infection itself, HIV/AIDS was a rarely acknowledge and largely ignored disease, occurring in few isolated cases prior to 1981. These infrequent incidents provided an insufficient amount of data that deprived scientists of the ample sample size required to effectively characterize the disease.
Evidence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic was first observed on June 5, 1981 when the CDC published a report describing multiple cases of a rare lung infection in five young gay men.
All five men were reported as having been previously healthy and all had indicators that their immune systems were becoming ineffective. By the end of the year, out of the 270 reported cases 121 of them ended in mortality (AIDS.gov). In response, The CDC released the report “Current Trends [...] and Precautions for Clinical and Laboratory Staffs” (CDC, 1982), using the increased inflow of data to sketch an outline of the disease:
As cases of HIV/AIDS grew (Figure 2), the massive inflow of statistical data, ranging from common lifestyles to symptoms, allowed doctors to characterize the disease quickly. Trends among those affected revealed that HIV/AIDS spread from the exchange of bodily fluids and that this exchange was primarily sexually linked, it was not limited to sexual exchanges. The CDC report "Epidemiologic Notes and Reports Possible Transfusion-Associated Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) -- California." (CDC, 1982) highlights
this;
This groundbreaking diagnosis was corroborated by an astounding 22 cases of infant immunodeficiency only a week later. The foreign nature and rising threat of the growing pandemic jarred even the most stoic of leaders in the scientific sector. On January 4, the CDC hosted a national conference to determine blood bank policy for testing blood for HIV, but were unable to reach consensus on how to respond (CDC). They were troubled, as was the public, as to how to treat a previously unknown disease that seemed to cause the rapid deterioration of one’s health. Panic was on the rise; the CDC was forced to establish the National AIDS Hotline to respond to the concerned public (CDC). Now that the disease was not limited to homosexual men, it seemed as if HIV could mark even the youngest and most innocent of victims. In his article, “The New Untouchables”, Evan Thomas voices the fears of the common American family;
These families who reacted so dramatically were horribly misinformed, for by this time Dr.
Robert Gallo and his colleagues had isolated the retrovirus HTLV-III and a diagnostic blood test was well into development. Less than a year later, FDA licenses HIV blood tests for sale (CDC).This was a momentous achievement; in such a short time the scientific community had persevered against this faceless, mysterious threat and were making progress. Prior to this, the scientific community saw viral infections as impossible to treat, and not serious enough to finance thorough research for a cure (Zurger). “Immunologists now have a far better understanding of the primary immune cells called T-lymphocytes that the virus particularly strikes [...] and the complex links between cancer, immunity and infection have also been cemented by findings in H.I.V.-infected people” (Zurger). The field of retrovirology was born; scientists were able to gain from the massive inflow of data collected over the next years how retroviruses alter the DNA of their host cells, how they evade immune detection, and were able to draw parallels between the spread of cancer and and spread of HIV infection. This provided the necessary context for inferences on the bases for RNA genetic code, sparking research that was able to assess and explain the function of reverse transcriptase (Broder). In 1985, the first treatment for HIV/AIDS, Zidovudine (commonly referred to as AZT), was sold and several wellness programs
focused on increased HIV/AIDS awareness were established to educate the public.

The scientific and medical communities of the 1980’s were up to date on the integral workings of the HIV retrovirus, but society, especially the lower class, were woefully underserved. Those in the upper class who could afford education and moved naturally through the informed circles of high society were well aware of the factors that increase the transmission of HIV as information became available in the mid 1980’s, but unequal access to health care and treatment among those living in poverty prevented the spread of this knowledge outside the academic realm. At the same time, factors including poverty, substance abuse, homelessness, and lack of healthcare facilitated the spread of HIV disproportionately among ethnic minorities (Figure 3). A large part of the problem was that these communities were only aware of HIV/AIDS as a homosexual disease; they were unaware that those who are heterosexual or drug users are also susceptible to the disease. These racial and ethnic minorities, already struggling with many social and economic challenges became the focus of educational campaigns and community outreach programs. Richard Dunne petitioned the House of Representatives for one such program in his 1987 speech, “AIDS Is an Illness of People of Color”, outlining the situation as follows:
By his petition, organizations were established that taught methods on how to avoid contraction of HIV/AIDS and the CDC strived to monitor the progression of HIV/AIDS among ethnic minorities. To further help poverty stricken areas, needle exchanges were established so that drug users are not forced to share used needles and could instead get clean needles, preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS through blood transmission. In densely populated urban areas, free clinics were established to provide free testing to those who could not afford the HIV/AIDS screening process (AIDS.gov).
Without trial, there is no growth; without pain, there is no progress. Without the AIDS crisis of the 1980’s there would be little to no data available on the replicative nature of viruses; this information has been influential in the study of cancer as well as regular viral infections. Without the public health crisis, American society would not have recognized how those in poverty are completely underserved; without the epidemic there would have been no push for health programs to directly administer to overlooked ethnic minorities. The HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980’s founded the scientific discipline of modern retrovirology, transformed how we understand the function and transmission of retroviruses, and also provided influential outreach programs to the impoverished members of society.