Tag: Patient Zero

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A DNA-based view reveals hidden Zika spread

by Colin O’Leary figures by Rebecca Clements News of viral epidemics spreads faster than the viruses themselves. Once the virus arrives, how do we determine where it came from? How do scientists monitor the arrival and spread beyond keeping track of the number of cases at a given time? Instead of sifting through medical records in search of the first infected person—the elusive “patient zero”—studying the … Continue reading A DNA-based view reveals hidden Zika spread

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HIV-Infected T Cell
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Genetic Evidence Exonerates HIV’s “Patient Zero”

Gaeten Dugas, the man who received the title “Patient Zero” for supposedly bringing HIV/AIDS into the United States, has been cleared.  Dugas was a Canadian flight attendant who contracted and died of AIDS soon after the disease first appeared in the US.  The book And the Band Played On paints a sinister picture of his role in the early AIDS epidemic, leading many to suspect … Continue reading Genetic Evidence Exonerates HIV’s “Patient Zero”

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