[The trail of AIDS in Peru]

This historical study of the Aids epidemic in Peru between 1983 and 2000 focuses on legal responses and on medical studies and intervention, especially during the early 1980s, a decade characterized by serious economic crisis and terrorist violence. As elsewhere around the world, the appearance of Aids intensified interactions between scientists, public health specialists, journalists, politicians, and patients, with major influence on culture as well as on public health responses to the disease. In addition to retelling an important story, the study demonstrates the validity and usefulness of the historical perspective, which affords a better understanding of recent events in health and in society overall.