EVOLUTION:

The first CDC task force, in 1981, called the disease Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections (KSOI) The disease was sometimes also referred to as “gay cancer” or Gay-related Immunodeficiency Disease (GRID.) At that time, the medical community had noticed that the people with this disease had deficient immune systems. The early names of the disease showed that it was believed that only homosexuals could get it. There were many theories about what might cause this disease in homosexuals, such as using a drug called amyl and/or butyl nitrite inhalers, also known as “poppers”, various combinations of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and exposure to strange tropical illnesses. This was proven wrong when a group of non drug-using heterosexual Haitians were found with the illness. Another group of people with a blood disease called hemophilia, who had to get a lot of blood transfusions, also started to show up with the illness.