Hepatitis B
Szmuness first became interested in the hepatitis B virus when his wife, Maya, was nearly killed by the liver disease caused by the virus, which she contracted through a blood transfusion. In New York, Szmuness investigated the natural history of hepatitis B. A vaccine was produced in the late 1970s, and Szmuness designed and conducted vaccine trials to determine its efficacy. Over 1000 male homosexuals participated in the trials; they were chosen as participants because they "had been found to have a risk of developing hepatitis B that is 10 times greater than that for the population in general".
Read more about this topic: Wolf Szmuness