The AIDS Crisis and HIV


What is HIV and AIDS?



Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that destroys CD4 T lymphocytes, leaving the body vulnerable to infections and cancers.

There is now Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which is a combination of drugs used to treat HIV infection. This treatment means that people on regular treatment have an undetectable viral load and are incapable of passing on the virus through unprotected sexual contact. This is known as 'Undetectable = Untransmittable', or simple 'U=U'. People now have life expectancy which is comparable to those without the virus.

There is also pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, which is used to reduce the risk of getting HIV.


What was the AIDS Crisis?


The first cases of HIV were reported in 1981. The virus was discovered in 1983. There were no effective treatment for HIV until 1996. The only defence for gay men was regular testing and practising safer sex. Read more here.



I left home to go to university to study to be a speech and language therapists aged 18 in 1988. During that time I lived in Birmingham and Manchester. Most of my gay friends from that time were either affected by the AIDS crisis or died as a result of AIDS.

Darren was from Birmingham and moved to Manchester. I met him when he lived with me and my then partner as a lodger in Levenshulme, Manchester. We eventually moved into a flat in Longsight, Manchester. During 1989-1995 we were often to be found in Manchester's Gay Village.

I revised for my degree finals in summer 1995 as Darren started to succumb to the virus. Darren went home to his family in Birmingham for the last few months of his life.

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I was interviewed by Tommy Dickinson for the book chapter:

Dickinson, T., Appasamy, N., Pritchard, L.P., and Savidge, L. (2022). Nursing a plague: nurses' perspectives on their work during the United Kingdom HIV/AIDS crisis, 1981-96. In J. Weston & H. J. Elizabeth (Eds.), Histories of HIV/AIDS in Western Europe : new and regional perspectives (pp. 109-138). Manchester University Press. https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526151223




Dedicated to Darren Hall (19/11/1968 - 27/06/1996) aged 27 years



I was interviewed for West Yorkshire Queer Stories (17/09/2019) and spoke at length on Darren's life and death from AIDS, and the accompanying survivor guilt.


If you are worried about HIV or AIDS, please contact The Terrance Higgins Trust (THT).
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