Гаэтан Дюгас: «0 науқас» мифы және АҚШ-тағы ЖҚС дамуының тарихы

Canadian flight attendant, long misidentified as the index case of the North American AIDS Crisis

Gaëtan Dugas (ɡaetɑ̃ dyɡa; February 19, 1952 – March 30, 1984) was a Québécois Canadian flight attendant whose role in the early years of the AIDS epidemic attracted considerable attention. Initially identified as a central figure labeled "Patient Zero" Dugas faced allegations of being a primary source of HIV transmission to the United States. This narrative, popularized notably by Randy Shilts' 1987 book And the Band Played On, has been refuted through subsequent scientific scrutiny and historical re evaluation. Dugas' story highlights the perils of misinformation and the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in the 1980s. Despite facing criticism in popular discourse, subsequent studies have provided a more nuanced understanding of Dugas' impact on the epidemic, emphasizing the importance of accuracy and empathy in public health narratives. Dugas worked as a flight attendant for Air Canada and died in Quebec City in March 1984 as a result of kidney failure caused by AIDS related infections. In March 1984, a study tracked Dugas, along with other gay and bisexual men, to indicate his role in a particular cluster of 40 AIDS cases in the United States. He was named "Patient O" with "O" standing for "Out of California". A 1987 book about the epidemic, And the Band Played On, used the term "Patient Zero" and put significant focus on Dugas, with media reports expanding his role in the epidemic further. A 2016 study confirmed that Dugas did not bring HIV to the United States, and he was not Patient Zero, via genetic analysis of stored blood samples, supported by historical detective work.

[[File:AIDS index case graph. svg|upright=1.5|thumb|A 1984 paper In David France's 2016 book How to Survive a Plague, Shilts' editor expressed his regret for having "made a conscious decision to vilify Dugas in the book and publicity campaign in order to spur sales."

A number of authorities have since voiced reservations about the implications of the CDC's Patient Zero study and characterizations of Dugas as being responsible for bringing HIV to cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. In 1988, Andrew R. Moss published an opposing view in The New York Review of Books. In 2016, a group of researchers led by evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey conducted a genetic study that looked at blood samples taken from gay and bisexual men in 1978 and 1979 as part of a hepatitis B study, and based on the results of the data, concluded that Dugas was not the source of the virus in the United States. "On the family tree of the virus, Dugas fell in the middle, not at the beginning." "Beliefs about Patient Zero," Worobey concludes, "are unsupported by scientific data." A study by historian Richard McKay of Cambridge and others identified several causes for the Patient Zero myth. During early CDC analysis of cases in California, patient 057 (Dugas) was nicknamed patient "O" for "Out of California", but this was interpreted by others as Patient Zero. This book also contains the most definitive biography of Dugas' life, constructed through numerous interviews with friends, family, and lovers. Robert M. Grant, an AIDS researcher at the University of California, has stated: "No one wants to be the Patient Zero of their village. But this may be helpful because it says, 'Just because you are the first to be diagnosed doesn't mean you started the epidemic.'" and Laurie Lynd's documentary Killing Patient Zero (2019), have also discussed the Patient Zero myth around Dugas.