How HIV/AIDS got its name − the words Americans used were steeped in science, stigma, and religious language

Author: Anthony Petro

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first used the term “AIDS” on Sept. 24, 1982, more than a year after the first cases appeared in medical records. Those early years of the crisis were marked by a great deal of confusion over what caused the disease, who it affected and how it spread.

Anthony Petro, Associate Professor of Religion and of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Boston University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.