ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how people deal with infectious agents for which there is no cure and, in some cases, no sure treatment through the lens of HIV. HIV expanded the subjects that medical anthropologists studied, and an appreciation of this work, because of the necessity of understanding the conditions in which people were infected. In particular, HIV drew attention to social structure and disadvantage, causing us to rethink our language, as reflected in the evolution in terminology from prostitution to sex work to survival sex; HIV community advocates and researchers emphasized the need to engage with affected communities, policy makers, and health services. In the twenty-first century, the focus in relation to HIV is increasingly on people living with HIV as a chronic disease, and so we have turned to explore the new social forms, including expert patients, that shape contemporary AIDS care.
