AIDS

• AIDS is a condition cause by the HIV virus that attacks the body's immune system.
• AIDS can spread via:

  • Unprotected sexual intercourse
  • Sharing hypodermic needles
  • Pregnancy (mother to baby)
• In the early 1980s, the AIDS epidemic caused panic and prejudice. Newspapers called it the 'gay plague' and and blamed it for gay men and drug users
• Government advice wrongly suggested that AIDS could be spread through touch, adding to panic
• By the later 1980s, the government response improved:

  • An information leaflet called 'Dont die of ignorance' was sent to every household
  • Hospitals provided free testing for the HIV virus
• In 1987 Princess Diana was photographed shaking an AIDS patients hand, this calmed public fears