Gaétan Dugas was an effervescent gay French Canadian flight attendant renowned among his colleagues for his bold declarations that he would one day become a 'star.' At the age of 32, his life was tragically cut short due to AIDS-related complications. Despite his light-hearted claims, Gaétan became posthumously infamous when, in 1987, he was exposed by author and journlaist Randy Shilts as being the individual responsible for introducing AIDS to North America, earning him the label of "patient zero."

This unwarranted infamy inflicted profound pain on his family and friends, as he was denounced as a "monster" by the very media that sensationalised the story. It was not until nearly thirty years later, following significant advancements in scientific research, that studies of Gaétan's blood samples showed unequivocally that his HIV footprint was not that old, meaning other HIV strains had been in North American cities long before Gaétan had even visited them. In 2019, the film Killing Patient Zero spoke to those who knew Gaétan best, shifting the narrative from Zero to hero. Prior to that, Zero Patience, a musical film released in 1993, took a satirical approach to Randy Shilt’s claims, challenging the misconceptions surrounding Gaétan’s role in the epidemic.

All articles and relevant documents from this episode are available on the:

XTRA Tea Blog AIDS: THE LOST VOICES - Gaétan Dugas Patient Hero & Zero Patience

----------------------------------------------------

Killing Patient Zero

Written & Directed by Laurie Lynd - Fadoo Productions

WATCH FILM HERE (Subscription/Fee's may apply)

Amazon Prime Film

Apple TV

Sky Store

----------------------------------------------------

Zero Patience - Musical Movie

Written & Directed by John Greyson

WATCH FILM HERE (Subscription/Fee's may apply)

Archive.org (Free on a laptop/device)

Amazon.com

----------------------------------------------------

BOOK:

Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic

by Richard A. McKay

Buy on Amazon.co.uk

----------------------------------------------------

BOOK:

AND THE BAND PLAYED ON - Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic

by Randy Shilts

Buy on Amazon.co.uk

----------------------------------------------------

Third-party media: Used under 'fair use' for the sole purpose of education, criticism and/or research of HIV/AIDS. No copyright infringement intended.