Causes, Cases, and Cohorts: The Role of Epidemiology in the Historical Construction of AIDS

In his history of the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) epidemic, Mirko Grmek reports that the term acquired immune deficiency syndrome, the first generally accepted name for this new disorder, was coined at a 1982 meeting held at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. Thereafter, the CD...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. Verfasser: Gerald M. Oppenheimer
Format: Buchkapitel
Sprache:eng
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:In his history of the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) epidemic, Mirko Grmek reports that the term acquired immune deficiency syndrome, the first generally accepted name for this new disorder, was coined at a 1982 meeting held at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. Thereafter, the CDC epidemiologists spread and legitimated the neologism by using it extensively in official publications.¹ By attributing to the CDC the power to control the name of the disease, Grmek indirectly demonstrates how prominent a part that agency and its epidemiologists played in defining this new “medical mystery.” In this essay I examine the