Journal of the International AIDS Society Blog

History of HIV/AIDS: on this day – 27 July 1982. A syndrome is named.

On 5^th of June 1981 doctors in Los Angeles, USA first described particularly serious forms of Pneumocystis pneumonia and Kaposi’s sarcoma, in a small group of young homosexual men. The findings were recorded in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published by the Centers for Disease Control.

Kaposi’s sarcoma, a malignant tumor of the connective tissue, showed up as distinctive skin lesions. It could simultaneously affect lymph nodes throughout the body, the lungs and the gastrointestinal tract. It quickly became a hallmark of HIV/AIDS as HIV-positive patients often develop this type of cancer.

These illnesses were also observed in people with haemophilia, other people receiving blood transfusions and people using intravenous drugs. By 1982 common symptoms were also seen in partners and infants of those infected, whose immune system would unequivocally become compromised.

On 27^th of July 1982, the designation Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was agreed upon in Washington, D.C., in a meeting of representatives of homosexual communities, federal bureaucrats and representatives of the Centers for Disease Control¹. A syndrome designates a set of symptoms occurring at the same time.

In January 1983 Dr. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, isolated a retrovirus that destroyed T lymphoctyes from the lymph system of a patient afflicted with an immune deficiency². The name Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was officially adopted for this type of retrovirus in 1987.

For more information regarding a timeline on HIV/AIDS.

Today researchers believe strains of the virus crossed over from primates to humans in the 1930s³ and HIV was further spread between humans creating the epidemic we face today.

There is still no cure nor a vaccine for HIV/AIDS. The only way to know if we are infected with HIV is to get tested, an integral part of HIV prevention strategies. To learn more about HIV testing.

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Article references:

¹ Time (1982, July 27). A Name for the Plague. Retrieved July 27, 2010, from http://www.time.com/time/80days/820727.html

² Science (1983, May 20). Isolation of a T-lymphotrophic Retrovirus from a Patient at Risk for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Retrieved July 27, 2010, from http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;220/4599/868

³ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (2001, June 29). The Origins of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Viruses: Where and When? Retrieved July 27, 2010, from  http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/356/1410/867.long

 

Posted by Rose-Marie Neuenschwander at 11:35    Comments (0)

 

Journal of the International AIDS Society’s events at the International AIDS Conference 2010 in Vienna, Austria

The editorial team of Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) is attending the International AIDS Conference 18-23 July 2010 in Vienna, Austria. In collaboration with European Association of Science Editors and International Society of Addiction Journal Editors, JIAS is participating at the conference with two skills-building workshops on scientific writing and publishing.

 

Building on the success of the “Publish or Perish” workshop held during IAS2009 in Cape Town and last March during the 5th Francophone conference on HIV/AIDS in Casablanca, join us at this year’s conference for these two professional development opportunities: 

 

Publish or Perish for Junior Authors: Writing and Publishing Scientific Manuscripts on HIV/AIDS and related topics. In addition to providing practical guidelines for writing a scientific paper, an editors’ panel will give an insight into the editorial process and discuss reasons for rejecting manuscripts. 

 

When: Wednesday 21 July, 16:30-18:00 

 

Where: Mini Room 3, Reed Messe Convention Centre, Vienna  

 

 

Interactive Workshop on: Scientific Integrity and Ethical Issues in Publishing in the Field of HIV and AIDS. The workshop will cover ethical and practical dilemmas in HIV research and scientific publishing, with a guided, interactive discussion of ‘real world’ scientific integrity issues.

When: Thursday 22 July, 11:00-12:30

Where: Mini Room 2, Reed Messe Convention Centre, Vienna 

 

The JIAS editorial team would also be pleased to meet you at the IAS Booth in the Exhibition Hall, Reed Messe Vienna, from 18-22 July!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Rose-Marie Neuenschwander at 17:39    Comments (0)

 

Kuan-Teh Jeang awarded ‘Editor of the Year’ by BioMed Central

Journal of the International AIDS Society congratulates its editorial board member Dr. Jeang for his award of ‘Editor of the Year’ presented to him by BioMed Central. Dr. Jeang was recognized for his dedication as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Retrovirology, which has celebrated continuous success since its launch in 2004. 

     

Dr. Jeang is Head of the Molecular Virology Section at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. His research focuses on HIV-1 gene expression and HTLV-1 (human T-cell leukemia virus type 1) transformation of human cells. He received his MD and PhD degrees from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1984.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Rose-Marie Neuenschwander at 15:54    Comments (0)