Who is at Risk? Lessons Learned

A young man walked into my office for fatigue and thrombocytopenia, a common disease Hematologists see of low platelets. A recent article from California talked of an unusual disease not seen often in non-immunocompromised patients. No cause was apparent. Soon there were several reports with a similar clinical picture in other risks groups. Within a short time a causative agent was found. Early diagnostic tests had been developed and took some time to be standardized. Rapid deaths occurred in about 50% of affected persons, with life expectancy of one year. Within four years the first effective drug was licensed by the FDA. Many global attempts at a vaccine had failed. This was initially known as the syndrome AIDS, until the virus was identified as HIV, human immunodeficiency virus.