November 17, 2023
Bulletin interne de l'Institut Pasteur
HIV – 40 years of research and action: testimonies from representatives of patient organizations
To mark the 40th anniversary of the identification of HIV, several interviews have been conducted with representatives of patient organizations for the Research Journal on the pasteur.fr website. Check out the first two interviews in the series here:
The 40-year fight against HIV: we speak to Pauline Londeix, former Vice-President of Act Up-Paris and co-founder of OTMeds
In 1983 the AIDS virus, HIV, was isolated by virologists at the Institut Pasteur. There was no treatment at the time, and individuals infected with HIV generally died from this new disease. But in 1996, highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was introduced in the Global North, before becoming available in the Global South from 2001 onwards. Pauline Londeix, former Vice-President of Act Up-Paris and co-founder of the Observatory for Transparency in Drug Policies (OTMeds), looks back at this period.
The 40-year fight against HIV: we speak to Florence Thune, Executive Director of Sidaction
In 1983 the AIDS virus, HIV, was isolated by virologists at the Institut Pasteur. At the time, there were widespread misconceptions of the virus and the way it was transmitted, and people living with HIV were the target of considerable discrimination. Today, huge strides have been made in science and knowledge. But as Florence Thune, Executive Director of French HIV/AIDS charity Sidaction reminds us, the stigma hasn't gone away.