Man has AIDS in 1950s

[Marla Brunker]

	A Medline search keyed to case reports of Kaposi's sarcoma, PCP
and cytomegalovirus before 1980 in adults got these references:
 
  Ueda N.  Iwata K.  Tokuoka H.  Akagi T.  Ito J.  Mizushima M.
  Adult T-cell leukemia with generalized cytomegalic inclusion disease and
  pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.
  Acta Pathologica Japonica.  29(2):221-32, 1979 Mar.
  An autopsy case of adult T-cell leukemia with generalized cytomegalic
  inclusion disease and pneumocystis carinii pneumonia is reported. Tumor
  cells had T-cell characteristics (E-rosette) and cerebriform nucleus
  similar to Sezary cells. Generalized lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly
  and an ectopic pancreas in the ileum were found at the time of autopsy.
  Histologically, leukemic infiltration was observed in almost every organ,
  and perivascular infiltration, vascular invasion were conspicuous
  findings. Cytomegalic inclusion bodies were observed in most organs
  (lungs, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, ectopic pancreas, sweat gland,
  stomach, thyroid gland, pituitary body, etc.). An acute hepatitis,
  probably caused by cytomegalovirus, was also noted. Presumed correlation
  of adult T-cell leukemia, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and T-cell lymphoma
  was discussed.
 
  Kallo K.
  [Cases of acute cytomeglaovirus infection]. [Hungarian]
  Acut cytomegalovirus infectio eseteink.
  Orvosi Hetilap.  120(39):2359-60, 1979 Sep 30.
 
  Lemon SM.  Hutt LM.  Huang YT.  Blum J.  Pagano JS.
  Simultaneous infection with multiple herpesviruses.
  American Journal of Medicine.  66(2):270-6, 1979 Feb.
 
  Rahal JJ Jr.  Simberkoff MS.
  Cases 8, 9, and 10.
  Postgraduate Medicine.  62(5):207-9, 1977 Nov.
 
  Freeman HJ.  Shnitka TK.  Piercey JR.  Weinstein WM.
  Cytomegalovirus infection of the gastrointestinal tract in a patient with
  late onset immunodeficiency syndrome.
  Gastroenterology.  73(6):1397-403, 1977 Dec.
  An adult with the late onset immunodeficiency syndrome developed
  intractable diarrhea. Widespread cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of the
  gastrointestinal tract was detected antemortem with detailed morphological
  studies and viral culture. The CMV-type cells were especially numerous in
  his severely ulcerated colon. Electron microscopy of infected cells in
  rectal biopsy material revealed the characteristic features of CMV
  infection. It is likely that the CMV infection contributed to the symptom
  complex and the mucosal injury. Unusual opportunistic infections as a
  cause of diarrhea should be considered in patients with late onset
  immunodefociency, especially if Giardiasis is ruled out.
 
  Anonymous.
  Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Weekly
  clinicopathological exercises. Case 15-1973.
  New England Journal of Medicine.  288(15):780-7, 1973 Apr 12.
 
 
	The ones without abstracts registered at least 2 out of the 3 (KS, PCP o
or CMV). There's a bunch like that, apparently seen as anomalies, for the year
1980, before the story broke.
	Of course I don't know for a fact that these were cases of HIV
(even if I had read the citations, which I haven't). But where do you
suppose the virus was all that time?