CDC's Early Investigations into HIV-AIDS in New York City: Defining the Pandemic

About this episode

Dr. Pauline Thomas discusses her early work with the CDC during the onset of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Pauline "Polly" Thomas, who began her career with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in New York City in 1981—the exact year the HIV/AIDS crisis first surfaced in public health reports. As one of the world's first medical field investigators, Dr. Thomas worked on the front lines to identify how the virus spread. Her evaluations were instrumental in proving that HIV was transmitted via blood and body fluids rather than casual contact...

People in this episode

Host: William Trick

Guest: Dr. Pauline "Polly" Thomas

Topics covered

• HIV/AIDS
• public health
• medical investigations
• transmission of viruses
• CDC history

Keywords

• HIV
• AIDS
• CDC
• public health
• transmission
• New York City
• 1981
• medical investigations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Places: New York City

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