Copy of `AIDS. Don't die of ignorance' leaflet in original envelope, of the type distributed to all households in the UK as part of the Government information campaign on AIDS, issued by the DHSS, 1987

AIDS was first described in 1981 and the virus (HIV) which causes it was first described in 1983. There was and still is some confusion among the public over how the disease spreads. It is a sexually transmitted disease and can also be spread through infected blood via blood transfusions or sharing needles.

The government campaigned throughout the 1980s and 1990s to raise public awareness about diseases such as AIDS.