Stigmatising the 4 H’s

In the absence of definitive information about what we now know to be HIV and its link to AIDS, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) lists the main at-risk groups, including partners of people with AIDS, people who inject drugs, haemophiliacs and people who have recently been to Haiti. The latter causes controversy, with Haitian Americans complaining of stigmatisation. Before long people are talking colloquially of a “4-H Club” at risk of AIDS: homosexuals, haemophiliacs, heroin addicts and Haitians.