Grupy ryzyka zakażeniem HIV w latach 1981-1986

The article describes how the notion of groups at risk of HIV infection changed under the influence of the development of studies on HIV in the years 1981–1986. The first diagnosed patients with the HIV symptoms were homosexual persons and drug addicts. In the initial phase of virus occurrence in the world these two groups were commonly regarded as the virus carriers and only they were associated with AIDS. With time the progress in research has revealed that infections with HIV cannot be linked solely to lifestyle, habits of homosexuals and drug addicts since the group of subjects potentially vulnerable to the infection is much broader and it started to be related to some risky behaviour. The article shows the process of alteration of the knowledge about the virus causing AIDS in the years 1981–1986. The progress in this knowledge has lead to the changes in qualifying subjects to the risk groups related to the way of HIV transmission. The paper also presents the phenomenon of stigmatization linked to the inclusion of some populations to the groups at risk of HIV infection in the 80s. of the 20th century which was caused by the lack of knowledge on the pathogenesis and mechanism of virus transmission.