The HIV virus first landed in New York in the 1970s and spread to the world from there, a new genetic study shows. And it clears "Patient 0".
www.nbcnews.com
there were so many HIV positive addicts they first called it the "junky flu" in the 1970s. straight people who took a lot of chances with drugs or prostitutes were dying without being tested. that was the risk factor for all "edgy people" until society learned more about the illness. i would say, that until the mid 90s, HIV was quietly infecting all kinds of "street" people, gay or straight.
many gay people are sober, educated white men, so when they noticed a problem, they raised hell until society took it more seriously. all those black and puerto rican drug addicts were just spreading HIV and dying for a couple decades without any studying of the problem. that caused HIV to be seen as a gay disease when it was actually a more diverse problem. today it actually is more gay than anything else, but when easy caught it, straight people who fukked around with drug users, prostitutes, or ex-prisoners were actually a prime risk group.