25th Anniversary of HIV/AIDS in the United States
Monday, June 5, 2006 marks the 25th anniversary of the first reported case of what is now known as the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). On June 5th, 1981, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published a report of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in five previously healthy young men in Los Angeles, CA. These cases were later recognized as the first reported cases of AIDS in the United States; from these initial MMWR reports on an emerging illness, AIDS has grown into a global pandemic affecting men, women and children in nearly every country of the world. It is estimated that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS, has infected more than 65 million people worldwide, causing more than 25 million to die according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
In the United States alone, an estimated one million people are currently living with HIV and 40,000 new infections occur each year. In the last 25 years, more than half a million people in the United States have been killed by HIV/AIDS. And infection rates continue to climb among women, racial and ethnic minorities, young homosexual men, individuals with certain addictive disorders and people over 50 years of age.
And yet, countless people have dedicated their lives to preventing and treating this disease – and their efforts are monumental. There has been a dramatic decrease in the mother-to-child transmission levels, there are widespread diagnostic and screening tests, there are innumerable prevention programs, and medications have sharply decreased the cases of HIV-related morbidity and mortality where the medications are used. While we have made important advances, much remains to be done to eradicate the pandemic. The anniversary is a time to remember the millions who have died over the past 25 years, those who continue to live with HIV/AIDS, and others who have helped advance AIDS research and services as well as remind us all that collectively we must do more to slow the scourge of HIV/AIDS.
For more information on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) response to HIV/AIDS, please visit http://www.25yearsofaids.oar.nih.gov/. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has information on HIV/AIDS. Moreover, the Kaiser Family Foundation has released new resources including an evolution of the epidemic and overview of major trends in the United States to highlight AIDS at 25.
Sources: MMWR and NIH websites.