The Syphilis Epidemic and Its Relation to AIDS

22 January 1988

journal article
research article
Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science

Vol. 239 (4838) , 375-380
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.3276007

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the history of medical and public health responses to syphilis in the 20th-century United States and briefly evaluates the relevance and significance of these approaches for the AIDS epidemic. The parallels are numerous: they relate to science, public health, civil liberties, and social attitudes concerning sexually transmitted infection. The strengths and limits of past approaches to controlling sexually transmitted diseases are explored as a possible guide for AIDS policy.

Keywords

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