Selma Dritz (1917-2008) was a compassionate physician and epidemiologist. She tracked the first known cases of AIDS in San Francisco, and is remembered as an early hero of the AIDS epidemic.
Selma Dritz (1917-2008) was a compassionate physician and epidemiologist. She tracked the first known cases of AIDS in San Francisco, and is remembered as an early hero of the AIDS epidemic.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. This is Womanica.
This month, we’re highlighting women who worked in health and wellness.
Today we’re talking about a compassionate physician and epidemiologist. She tracked the first known cases of AIDS in San Francisco, and is remembered as an early hero of the AIDS epidemic. Please welcome Dr. Selma Dritz.
Selma was born on June 29, 1917 in Chicago. She had a brief career as a concert pianist before shifting gears and attending the University of Illinois for medical school. She practiced as a pediatrician until she took a leave to raise her three children.
In 1967, Selma earned a master’s degree from UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. She was then hired to work for the San Francisco Health Department. As the Assistant Director for their Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, she tracked outbreaks of food poisoning at local universities, flu amongst the elderly, and hepatitis epidemics.
In the early 1980s, Selma became aware of a new medical mystery. Young men in predominantly gay neighborhoods were dying from an unusual form of pneumonia. She also recorded rising cases of a skin cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma, which was mysteriously affecting the same population. Along with the director of her bureau, Dr. Erwin Braff, she tracked cases and shared the info with the federal CDC. Her findings contributed to some of the first clear data of what would later be known as the AIDS epidemic.
So little was known about the disease at the time. When Selma was first investigating, AIDS didn’t have a name yet – it hadn’t even been identified as a virus. Doctors weren’t sure how the disease was transmitted. To make matters worse, rampant homophobia prevented adequate research and sufficient care for patients in need.
Selma stood out for her methodical and caring approach. She later said, “I tried to make it clear that my job was to stop this disease, and I didn't care what they did in bed, in the bushes, or anywhere else. My job was simply to see that they didn't get sick.”
In Selma’s search to understand how and where the disease was spreading, she went into nightclubs and bathhouses, eventually helping others to see that the disease was sexually transmitted. She is credited today as one of the first people who suggested that AIDS was a sexually transmitted, infectious disease.
On top of her tracing work, she also educated the community about the risks of the disease. She was close with many of her patients, often counseling them about safe sex.
Despite her efforts, San Francisco became an epicenter of the AIDS epidemic – over 20,000 people in San Francisco alone have died from AIDS.
Selma was deeply frustrated with the pace of the government’s response. And she rightfully cited stigma as a key reason why that was the case. She told a reporter in 1993, “Those who prevented an effective response in the early days deserve some strong hammer strokes…We've made some progress, but if we could have moved more quickly a decade ago, things would not be as bad as they are now.”
In 1987, journalist Randy Shilts chronicled Selma’s role in tracking and identifying AIDS as part of a nonfiction book called ‘And the Band Played On’. When the book was turned into a film a few years later, Selma was played by Lily Tomlin.
Selma passed away on September 3, 2008, at the age of 91.
At a time when we are living through another pandemic, Selma is a reminder of the compassion, care and methodical determination we need to stop the spread and care for one another.
All month, we’re highlighting women who made important contributions to the world of health and wellness.
You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!