September 27, 2005
The epidemic of HIV/AIDS and the epidemic of "gay
cancer"
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is widely known as the "gay
cancer" that often accompanied AIDS when the first cases broke out in
gay men in Manhattan in 1979. In 1994 a new "human herpes-8" virus was
discovered that is now widely accepted as the cause of all forms of
KS. However, it is extremely important to note that the new KS herpes
virus (KSHV) is separate and distinct from the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome).