Arvid Noe
Norwegian sailor and trucker, the earliest confirmed case of HIV/AIDS in Europe (1946-1976)
Arne Vidar Røed (23 July 1946 – 24 April 1976), known in medical literature by the anagram Arvid Darre Noe, was a Norwegian sailor and truck driver who contracted one of the earliest confirmed cases of HIV/AIDS. He was the first confirmed HIV case in Europe, though the disease was not identified at the time of his death.
The virus spread to his wife and youngest daughter, both of whom also died. It was the first documented cluster of AIDS cases before the AIDS epidemic of the early 1980s.
The researchers studying the cases referred to Røed as the "Norwegian sailor", or the anagram "Arvid Darre Noe" to conceal his identity. His true name, Arne Vidar Røed, became known long after his death.
Illness and death
Røed began his career in the merchant navy in 1961, at the age of 15. As established by the journalist Edward Hooper, Røed visited Africa twice during his travels, the first time from 1961 to 1962 on board the Hoegh Aronde, along the west coast of Africa to Douala, Cameroon. On this trip, Røed contracted gonorrhea.
By 1968, Røed was no longer a sailor and was working as a long haul truck driver throughout Europe, mainly in West Germany.
Beginning in 1968, Røed suffered from joint pain, lymphedema, and lung infections.
“Arvid Noe” enters the record as norwegian sailor and trucker, the earliest confirmed case of HIV/AIDS in Europe (1946-1976). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Arvid, Norwegian and sailor can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4272060. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1946, 1976, 1961 and 1962.
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This entry incorporates text from “Arvid Noe” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.