Open AccessAIDS in the Heartland–Hemophilia Was the Harbinger of Things to Come
Author(s) -
Michael M. Lederman
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.162
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1944-7884
pISSN - 1525-4135
DOI - 10.1097/qai.0000000000002602
Subject(s) - subclinical infection , disease , medicine , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , immunology , environmental health , demography , virology , sociology
The history of the AIDS epidemic in the United States has focused largely on the experience in coastal cities where the syndrome was first recognized among gay men. In Cleveland and in many other heartland cities, early recognition of this syndrome was primarily among men with hemophilia who were at risk because of exposure to HIV during treatment with lyophilized antihemophilic factor concentrates that were pooled from plasmas of thousands of donors. Disease and subclinical immune deficiency in these men and in other populations drove recognition that AIDS was due to a blood-borne and sexually transmissible agent. As the AIDS epidemic expanded, heartland cities mobilized their staff and resources to meet the needs of a growing epidemic that ultimately affected the entire nation.