---

2006 - AIDS is 25...
In 1981 the world was rocked by what is now known as AIDS. 25 years later we still struggle for a cure, for prevention, for education, for life.

ABOUT HIV/AIDS
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that takes over certain immune system cells to make many copies of itself. HIV causes slow but constant damage to the immune system. As the immune system weakens, HIV often advances to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV disease.  HIV is transmitted in blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk.  HIV/AIDS is preventable.

HIV & AIDS Statistics
Global Statistics
• There are approximately 39 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide.
• There were 5 million new infections in 2003 (approximately 14,000 every day).
• 3 million people died from HIV/AIDS in 2003 (more than 8,000 deaths every day).
• 95% of people living with HIV/AIDS reside in the developing world.
• HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death worldwide for adults ages 15-59.
• Worldwide-HIV/AIDS is a youth driven epidemic:  57% of new infections are in people under the age of 25.

National Statistics
• Approximately 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year in the United States.
• HIV is the leading cause of death for African American adults ages 25-34, nationwide.
• It is estimated that at least half of all new HIV infections in the US are among people ages 25 years old and younger.
• Nationwide, it is estimated that almost all women contract HIV through heterosexual transmission (65%) and most others through injection drug use (32%).

Massachusetts Statistics
• There are approximately 1000 new infections every year in Massachusetts.  That means at least two sometimes three people are becoming infected with HIV each and every day.
• There are approximately 22,000-24,000 people infected with HIV in Massachusetts.  It is estimated that at least one third of them do not know they are infected.
• African-Americans and Latinos make up 50 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS in Massachusetts but only 12 percent of the state’s population.
• Over the last four years in Massachusetts the proportion of black women diagnosed with HIV increased from 40% to 51% of all recently infected women.

25 Years of AIDS
A quick pop-historic synopsis...

• 1981 Kaposi's sarcoma and a rare pneumonia reported among gay men in California mark the first U.S. AIDS cases.
• 1982 The disease, called acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is reported in 23 states.
• 1983 Reports of AIDS among women with no other risk factors suggest that HIV can be passed through heterosexual contact.
• 1985 Ryan White, a 13-year-old hemophiliac with AIDS, is barred from school.
  Actor Rock Hudson dies of AIDS.
• 1986 The AIDS Outreach Center opens as the Fort Worth Counseling Center.
• 1987 The Food and Drug Administration approves AZT, the first anti-HIV drug.
  Entertainer Liberace dies. Fashion designer Willi Smith, co-founder of WilliWear, dies.
• 1989 Actress Amanda Blake, who played Miss Kitty in the TV Western series Gunsmoke, dies.
• 1990 Ryan White dies. Fashion designer Halston dies.
• 1991 Samaritan House opens in Fort Worth to provide housing for people with AIDS. Kimberly Bergalis, a 23-year-old Florida woman, develops AIDS after contracting HIV from her HIV-positive dentist. Magic Johnson announces that he is retiring from basketball after testing positive for HIV.
• 1992 Tennis star Arthur Ashe announces that he is infected with HIV as a result of a 1983 blood transfusion. Actor Robert Reed, who played the father on TV's Brady Brunch, dies of AIDS. Actor Anthony Perkins of Psycho fame dies of AIDS. The first clinical trial of multiple drugs is conducted.
• 1993 Arthur Ashe dies. Ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev dies of AIDS.
• 1994 Elizabeth Glaser, a pediatric AIDS crusader, dies.
  Actor Dack Rambo dies. Real World's Pedro Zamora puts a personal face on the disease and dies the day after the last episode of RW San Francisco airs.
• 1995 Olympic diver Greg Louganis reveals that he has AIDS. The first anti-HIV drug in the protease inhibitor class is approved.
• 1997 AIDS deaths decrease by 46.4 percent from 31,130.
• 1999 A doctor who injected his former lover with HIV-infected blood is sentenced to 50 years in prison.
• 2001 The CDC reports that the incidence of HIV in people older than 50 is increasing twice as fast as in younger populations.
• 2002 The first rapid finger-prick HIV test is approved.
• 2005 AZT's patent expires, and the FDA approves a generic version.
• 2006 The battle for a cure continues...

A Comprehensive History of AIDS
MSNBC's Photo Timeline - 25 Years of AIDS