Obituary: Selma Dritz

Abstract

After working for years on everything from hepatitis to food poisoning to gonorrhoea, in 1981 she became aware of a strange and virulent form of pneumonia that was sweeping through the city's gay population. Dritz was passionate about trying to stop the spread of AIDS, and later spoke out about what she said was foot-dragging by local government officials who feared that if they closed down the bathhouses they would face a backlash from the politically powerful gay community.