Auckland Hospital's senior infectious diseases specialist will be awarded life membership of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation tomorrow, on the eve of his retirement. Dr. Rod Ellis-Pegler has spent 22 years at the coalface of HIV/AIDS management in New Zealand, and was one of the first infectious disease specialists in the country to begin caring for gay men infected with what was at the time an unknown disease. His work has seen him witness the dark days of the early epidemic, caring for patients dying of AIDS when little could be done other than palliative care, through the advent of medications in the late 90s to helping HIV-positive people deal with difficult treatment regimes. “Throughout the AIDS panic of the 1980s, Rod was one of the few truly informed voices we could rely on to help with our prevention work, and shatter myths and misconceptions about the disease in the wider community,” says NZAF Executive Director Rachael Le Mesurier. “He did this by cutting through the fear and blame and just saying simply, these are the facts.” Ellis-Pegler championed the needs of the increasing number of gay and bisexual men who became infected with HIV throughout the 80s and 90s, often needing to educate health professionals, the police, and the general public out of their own stigma around the disease. “When Rod chose infectious diseases as his career specialty back in 1967, many of his colleagues at the time considered it to be a dead-end as it was believed that mankind had finally conquered disease,” Le Mesurier says. “We'll be forever grateful that Rod didn't take their advice and utilise his talents elsewhere. His contribution in New Zealand to managing the most threatening epidemic of the modern age has been invaluable.” Dr Ellis-Pegler will be awarded his Life Membership in a ceremony at Auckland Hospital tomorrow at 12:30pm. Ref: NZAF (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 15th November 2006 - 12:00pm