Demetre Daskalakis | |
---|---|
Deputy Coordinator of the White House National Monkeypox Response Team | |
Assumed office August 2, 2022 | |
Leader | Robert Fenton |
Preceded by | Position established |
Personal details | |
Born | 1972or1973(age 50–51) Washington,D.C.,U.S. |
Education | Columbia University (BS) New York University (MD) Harvard University (MPH) |
Demetre C. Daskalakis (born 1972/1973) [1] is an American physician and gay health activist serving as director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention in the National Center for HIV/AIDS,Viral Hepatitis,STD,and TB Prevention since 2020. During the administration of Joe Biden,he was appointed deputy coordinator of the White House's mpox response to the 2022–2023 outbreak of the disease.
Daskalakis was born in Washington,D.C. to Greek parents [2] and raised in Arlington,Virginia. [3] He studied at Columbia University,where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1995. [4] [5] He recalls becoming interested in AIDS during his senior year at Columbia University,when he was given the task to fly the AIDS Memorial Quilt as part of a student campaign to raise awareness of AIDS. [3] [6]
He then received his medical degree from the NYU School of Medicine [3] [6] and completed post-graduate medical training at Harvard Medical School in 2003. [4] He completed his residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in 2003. [7] [8] He completed a Clinical Infectious Disease fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital's combined program. [7] [8] In 2012,he earned a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. [4]
Daskalakis worked at Mount Sinai Hospital in Brooklyn,where at one time he held the position of medical director of ambulatory HIV services. [6] He was also an assistant professor at New York University. [9] His work with the "Men's Sexual Health Project",which he founded in 2006,involved working in sex clubs and bathhouses to test men for sexually transmitted diseases,including HIV,and direct them to care. [6]
Daskalakis joined the New York City Department of Health in 2013. [10] During a 2012-2013 meningitis outbreak in the city,Daskalakis opened a pop-up clinic as part of a vaccination campaign targeting at-risk groups,such as men who had sex with men,and was credited with halting it. [11] By 2014,he was deputy commissioner for the Division of Disease Control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. [12]
Daskalakis was a member of governor Andrew Cuomo's Ending the Epidemic Task Force,an effort to decrease HIV transmission rates in New York City. [13] Since joining the city's health department,he has promoted the concept of "status-neutral care",a strategy for HIV treatment and prevention which takes the same approach to initial patient care regardless of the patient's HIV status. [10] The concept was part of the plan for the Ending the Epidemic campaign. [13] [14] [ non-primary source needed ]
Starting on December 21,2020,he has served as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention in the National Center for HIV/AIDS,Viral Hepatitis,STD,and TB Prevention. [8] [15] On August 2,2022,President Joe Biden appointed him as the White House National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator to respond to the 2022–2023 outbreak of the disease. [16] [17]
Daskalakis is gay. [4] He met his husband Michael Macneal at Macneal's gym,Monster Cycle. [3] [18] [19]
Daskalakis attended a Greek Orthodox church in Washington,D.C. growing up. He has explained that the large tattoo of Jesus on his stomach is inspired by the church. [9] Following his White House appointment in 2022,right-wing figures and media have made baseless accusations that Daskalakis is a Satanist due to his clothing and tattoos,including a pentagram tattoo,which he has explicitly denied. [9] [20] [21]
The AIDS epidemic,caused by HIV,found its way to the United States between the 1970s and 1980s,but was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in homosexual men in Los Angeles,New York City,and San Francisco in 1981. Treatment of HIV/AIDS is primarily via the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs,and education programs to help people avoid infection.
Mpox is an infectious viral disease that can occur in humans and other animals. Symptoms include a rash that forms blisters and then crusts over,fever,and swollen lymph nodes. The illness is usually mild and most of those infected will recover within a few weeks without treatment. The time from exposure to onset of symptoms ranges from five to twenty-one days and symptoms typically last from two to four weeks. Cases may be severe,especially in children,pregnant women or people with suppressed immune systems.
The GMHC is a New York City–based non-profit,volunteer-supported and community-based AIDS service organization whose mission statement is to "end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected." Founded in 1982,it is often billed as the "world's oldest AIDS service organization," as well as the "nation's oldest HIV/AIDS service organization."
Men who have sex with men (MSM) refers to all men who engage in sexual activity with other men,regardless of their sexual orientation or sexual identity. The term was created by epidemiologists in the 1990s,to better study and communicate the spread of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS between all sexually active males,not strictly those identifying as gay,bisexual,pansexual or various other sexualities,but also for example male prostitutes. The term is often used in medical literature and social research to describe such men as a group. It does not describe any specific kind of sexual activity,and which activities are covered by the term depends on context. An alternative term,males who have sex with males is sometimes considered more accurate in cases where those described may not be legal adults.
This is a timeline of HIV/AIDS,including but not limited to cases before 1980.
The National Center for HIV/AIDS,Viral Hepatitis,STD,and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP),formerly the National Center for HIV,STD,and TB Prevention (NCHSTP) is a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is responsible for public health surveillance,prevention research,and programs to prevent and control human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS),other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs),viral hepatitis,and tuberculosis (TB). Center staff work in collaboration with governmental and nongovernmental partners at community,State,national,and international levels,applying well-integrated multidisciplinary programs of research,surveillance,technical assistance,and evaluation.
HIV/AIDS in China can be traced to an initial outbreak of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) first recognized in 1989 among injecting drug users along China's southern border. Figures from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,World Health Organization,and UNAIDS estimate that there were 1.25 million people living with HIV/AIDS in China at the end of 2018,with 135,000 new infections from 2017. The reported incidence of HIV/AIDS in China is relatively low,but the Chinese government anticipates that the number of individuals infected annually will continue to increase.
Sexual Ecology:AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men is a 1997 book by gay activist Gabriel Rotello,who discusses why HIV has continued to infect large numbers of gay men despite the widespread use of condoms and why a number of experts believe that new HIV infections will disproportionately affect gay men in the future. Rotello examines the origins and timeline of the AIDS epidemic,drawing on epidemiology,sociology,gay history,and ecology. His conclusion is that gay men need to reduce their number of partners and increase condom use to bring the infection rate down. Rotello's central argument derives from the epidemiological concept that sexually-transmitted epidemics are the result of three factors,sometimes called the Triad of Risk:the "infectivity" of a sexually transmitted disease (STD),or how easily it spreads;the "prevalence" of that STD in a particular group,and 3. the ‘contact rate,’or the average number of sexual partners that people have within a particular group.
The index case or patient zero is the first documented patient in a disease epidemic within a population,or the first documented patient included in an epidemiological study. It can also refer to the first case of a condition or syndrome to be described in the medical literature,whether or not the patient is thought to be the first person affected. An index case can achieve the status of a "classic" case study in the literature,as did Phineas Gage,the first known person to exhibit a definitive personality change as a result of a brain injury.
Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers was a healthcare system in New York City,anchored by its flagship hospital,St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan.
The New York Native was a biweekly gay newspaper published by Charles Ortleb in New York City from December 1980 until January 13,1997. It was the only gay paper in New York City during the early part of the AIDS epidemic,and pioneered reporting on AIDS when most others ignored it. The paper subsequently became known for attacking the scientific understanding of HIV as the cause of AIDS and endorsing HIV/AIDS denialism.
Thomas R. Frieden is an American infectious disease and public health physician. He serves as president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives,a $225 million,five-year initiative to prevent epidemics and cardiovascular disease.
AIDS Vancouver,founded in early 1983,is recognized as one of the first community-based non-profit AIDS organizations in Canada,responding to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the Vancouver area. Led by co-founders Gordon Price,Noah Stewart,Dr. Mike Maynard,Daryl Nelson,and Ron Alexander Slater,the organization has aimed to provide support,education,and advocacy for individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. With a focus on grassroots efforts and community mobilization,AIDS Vancouver has been involved in efforts to address the spread of HIV and support individuals living with the virus.
How to Have Sex in an Epidemic:One Approach is a 1983 manual by Richard Berkowitz and Michael Callen,under the direction of Joseph Sonnabend,to advise men who have sex with men (MSM) about how to avoid contracting the infecting agent which causes AIDS. It was among the first publications to recommend the use of condoms to prevent the transmission of STDs in men having sex with men,and has even been named,along with Play Fair!, as one of the foundational publications in the advent of modern safe sex.
Initial events and trends in the discussion of HIV and AIDS in mass media contributed to the stigma and discrimination against those affected with the disease. Later discussion,sometimes led by HIV+ individuals themselves,moved toward advocacy and education on disease prevention and management. The UNESCO report on Journalism Education says,"Well researched television content can create public awareness about HIV prevention,treatment,care and support can potentially influence the development and implementation of relevant policies."
Since reports of emergence and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States between the 1970s and 1980s,the HIV/AIDS epidemic has frequently been linked to gay,bisexual,and other men who have sex with men (MSM) by epidemiologists and medical professionals. It was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in homosexual men in Los Angeles,New York City,and San Francisco in 1981. The first official report on the virus was published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on June 5,1981,and detailed the cases of five young gay men who were hospitalized with serious infections. A month later,The New York Times reported that 41 homosexuals had been diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma,and eight had died less than 24 months after the diagnosis was made.
New York City was affected by the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s more than any other U.S. city. The AIDS epidemic has been and continues to be highly localized due to a number of complex socio-cultural factors that affect the interaction of the populous communities that inhabit New York.
John N. Nkengasong is a Cameroonian-American virologist serving as the Global AIDS Coordinator in the Biden administration since 2022 and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy since 2023. He previously worked as the Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention from 2016 to 2022,as well as at the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the COVID-19 pandemic,Nkengasong was appointed the WHO Special Envoy for Africa.
Jay Varma is a physician and epidemiologist who is the Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of SIGA Technologies. He previously served as senior advisor for public health and COVID-19 to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
In May 2022,the World Health Organization (WHO) made an emergency announcement of the existence of a multi-country outbreak of mpox,a viral disease then commonly known as "monkeypox". The initial cluster of cases was found in the United Kingdom,where the first case was detected in London on 6 May 2022 in a patient with a recent travel history from Nigeria where the disease has been endemic. On 16 May,the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed four new cases with no link to travel to a country where mpox is endemic. Subsequently,cases have been reported from many countries and regions. The outbreak marked the first time mpox had spread widely outside Central and West Africa. The disease had been circulating and evolving in human hosts over several years before the outbreak and was caused by the clade IIb variant of the virus.