Main content
The Aids 'patient zero' myth
How Gaetan Dugas was mistakenly identified as the 'patient zero' of the Aids epidemic.
In the early days of Aids, a misunderstanding made one man the face of the epidemic. Canadian air steward Gaetan Dugas developed the symptoms of HIV/Aids in the early 1980s, but a misreading of scientific data led to him being identified as 'patient zero', giving the mistaken impression he was responsible for the spread of the disease. Lucy Burns speaks to researcher William Darrow, who worked on the epidemic, and to Gaetan Dugas' friend Rand Gaynor.
Photo: Gaetan Dugas. (Credit: Rand Gaynor)
Last on
Tue 30 Nov 2021
03:50GMT
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Mon 29 Nov 2021 08:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Mon 29 Nov 2021 12:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Mon 29 Nov 2021 18:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Mon 29 Nov 2021 23:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Tue 30 Nov 2021 03:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
Podcast
-
![]()
Witness History
History as told by the people who were there
