AIDS First Identified
CDC published the first report describing what would become known as the AIDS epidemic
June 05, 1981
A New Disease Emerges in America
In June 1981, the United States Centers for Disease Control published a report about five young men in Los Angeles who had developed a rare lung infection called Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. All five were gay men, and all had severely weakened immune systems with no clear cause. This short report marked the first official recognition of what would become one of the deadliest epidemics in modern history. Within months, similar cases appeared across the country, and doctors realized they were dealing with something entirely new. The condition was initially called GRID, or Gay-Related Immune Deficiency, though that name was quickly replaced.
Naming and Understanding the Disease
By 1982, the CDC had given the illness a new name: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. Scientists understood that it attacked the immune system, leaving the body unable to fight off infections that healthy people easily survive. The disease spread through blood, sexual contact, and shared needles, though early misinformation caused widespread fear and stigma. Communities affected by the epidemic, particularly gay men and intravenous drug users, faced discrimination at a time when they desperately needed medical support and compassion.
The Long Road Toward Treatment
The virus responsible for AIDS, HIV, was identified in 1983 and 1984 by researchers in France and the United States. A blood test became available in 1985, allowing people to find out their status. The first antiretroviral drug, AZT, was approved in 1987. Over the following decades, treatment improved dramatically. Today, people living with HIV can take daily medication that keeps the virus at an undetectable level, meaning they can live long, healthy lives and cannot transmit the virus sexually. Globally, AIDS has killed over 40 million people, making it one of history's most devastating epidemics. Use the date calculator to see how many years have passed since the first cases were reported.