BEING ALIVE; January, 1993
presented by Mark Katz MD and reported by Jim Stoecker

Some history may help to put this redefinition in perspective. The condition that came to be know as AIDS was first described in a CDC publication in June of 1981. A little over a year later, the term AIDS (for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was first used to describe someone with KS, PCP or another opportunistic infection. There was at that point no antibody test for HIV, so serostatus was not then a factor.

By 1985, the antibody test had become available. A diagnosis of AIDS was then determined by specific conditions, along with the presence of HIV. The last redefinition of AIDS, before the one in effect January 1, came in 1987. Additional OIs, such as non-pulmonary TB, were included in the list of AIDS-defining conditions. In addition, some non-opportunistic conditions such as AIDS-related dementia and wasting syndrome were added to the list.

This latest redefinition adds three conditions to the list: pulmonary TB, recurrent bacterial pneumonia, and cervical cancer. So, AIDS is diagnosed if a person has one of a number of specific conditions, along with a positive antibody test, no matter what his/her T-cell count may be. Even if none of the AIDS-defining conditions are present, however, an HIV+ person will be considered to have AIDS if his/her T-cell count falls below 200.

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