Personal Reflection on "Age of Aids" by Frontline

“The Age of AIDS” by frontline is an apt study for two reasons. First it details the process of identifying a disease which was new and mysterious; second in doing so it gives us insight on how epidemiology plays an important role. This gives us an understanding of epidemiology and its basic concepts in force while executing this role. The objectives of epidemiology of identifying the cause of disease, in this case AIDS, extent to which it has penetrated. Finding records for similar cases for further investigation which would help in finding the origins of the disease. Evaluating preventive and therapeutic measures, in this case the drug “AZT” was monitored and after sometime was found ineffective, because the HIV virus had formed immunity to this drug. This was possible to know in short span of time due to accumulation of data from all the test cases and assessing them regularly. One other important objective of epidemiology was indirectly explained, the objective of providing foundation for developing public policy. The program implicitly tells how ignorance from government led to transforming a disease with no cure, to a disease with no hope. There is a difference in not having a cure and not having hope. When there is no cure, it can be due lack of medical advance, which in due time might and will catch up, to bring forth better preventive measure and possible cure. Now not having a hope is not as simple as it sounds. It implies being alone, reduced to utter dejection from society and feeling helplessness. In early days, neglected by government to avoid controversies, detested by religious groups, feared by masses for possible chance of infection, people with AIDS were reduced to such helplessness and utter dejection, which I am sure, might not have any equal. This was possible not only because of indifference from government, but is also reflected in ignorance of CDC by administration and also discrimination not just by conservatives but even by the then