“Patient Zero”: The Absence of a Patient’s View of the Early North American AIDS Epidemic

Figure 1.

Gaétan Dugas, Kaposi’s sarcoma patient, 1981; black-and-white photograph, 22.8 cm high by 15.3 cm wide, Ray Redford’s personal papers, Vancouver. Although the photograph appears to have been professionally produced, no copyright markings appear on the verso. There, according to Redford, Dugas had written, “All my affection to you Ray, Gaetan [/] June 1981.” Photograph courtesy of Ray Redford (scanned image emailed to author, January 7, 2008). Dugas cultivated a cutting-edge look even while undergoing chemotherapy; the animal print of his headband was one of the most fashionable patterns that month; “Notes on Fashion,” New York Times, June 16, 1981, B14.