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From: scott@bbxsda.UUCP (Scott Amspoker)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: Re: (3128) HIV -- early strains
Message-ID: <1991May6.184309.10414@cs.ucla.edu>
Date: 6 May 91 16:02:14 GMT
References: <1991May5.090755.6244@cs.ucla.edu>
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In article <1991May5.090755.6244@cs.ucla.edu> IQTI400%INDYCMS.BITNET@mvs.oac.ucla.edu (MacPhil) writes:
>There are a number for stories, varying in degrees of believability,
>which have surfaced in pursuit of a "Patient Zero" (the first human
>to be determined to have contracted the disease, regardless of how).
>
>The two most commonly-told stories in the media I read are that of
>the homosexual airline steward and another of a teenager who died
>under mysterious circumstances and some of his tissues, etc. were
>frozen for the future and identified since the mid 80's as AIDS.

I have also seen the airline steward story (on "60 Minutes" and in
various articles).  Nowhere was it stated that he was believed to be
the first human with the disease.  He was simply the earlist known 
case in the United States (and recent reports suggest that there are
even earlier cases in the U.S.).  

I do agree that it was carelessly *implied* that this one man brought
AIDS to the world.  Not very responsible journalism IMHO.

-- 
Scott Amspoker                       | Touch the peripheral convex of every
Basis International, Albuquerque, NM | kind, then various kinds of blaming
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