An HIV/AIDS timeline

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An HIV/AIDS timeline

WORLD AIDS DAY: Every Dec. 1, the world joins together to raise awareness of AIDS research, treatment and prevention. The following is a timeline marking the key moments in the AIDS epidemic.

WORLD AIDS DAY: Every Dec. 1, the world joins together to raise awareness of AIDS research, treatment and prevention. The following is a timeline marking the key moments in the AIDS epidemic.

1981: In the late 1970s, health officials in New York and Los Angeles began noticing rare forms of pneumonia, cancer and other illnesses in men who had sex with other men. These cases were first reported as an epidemic in a CDC report in 1981. It would take another two years for researchers to learn that these illnesses were being caused by the HIV virus (seen here attacking a T-cell).

1982: The CDC defines Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and begins to formally track cases of the disease. AIDS is defined as a condition that leads to opportunistic infections, such as sarcoma (a kind of cancer) and pneumonia.

1983: The cause of AIDS is identified by two French researchers, Luc Montagnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi. Their report isolated a virus, later called HIV, that attacked a person's immune system, thus inviting lethal infections.

1987: The first antiretroviral drug (AZT) is approved by the U.S. Drug Administration. The drug does not cure AIDS, but only slows its progression. However, the drug sometimes comes with devastating side effects and in some cases makes the virus mutate into a strain resistant to treatment.

1988: The first World AIDS Day is marked by the World Health Organization during a health summit addressing the disease. The meeting gathered representatives from 148 countries for the first time to discuss the AIDS epidemic.

1991: NBA superstar Earvin "Magic" Johnson announces that he is HIV-positive and will retire from professional basketball. The announcement drew the general public's attention to the epidemic like never before, and showed that the disease was touching many people outside the gay community.

1992: The first rapid HIV test is licensed by the FDA. The test gives results in 10 minutes, and gives health workers a powerful new tool in tracking and treating the epidemic.

1995: The first protease inhibitor, saquinavir, is approved by the FDA. The new drug, in concert with others, slows the HIV virus from reproducing by attacking a key enzyme in the virus. This new class of drugs has a profoundly positive effect on AIDS patients, although it does not cure or eliminate the disease.

1998: Human trials begin in the U.S. for possible AIDS vaccines. Despite 10 years of vaccine developments, the trial results have been disappointing and the prospect of an AIDS vaccine remains elusive.

2001: The United Nations founds a global fund to fight HIV/AIDS worldwide. The worldwide effort is in recognition that the disease is still spreading quickly in many populous countries.

Today: According the the World Health Organization, 32.9 million people worldwide live with HIV or AIDS. Each year, 2 million die of the disease and another 2.7 million are infected. But as many HIV-positive survivors will tell you, the story hasn't finished yet.

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WORLD AIDS DAY: Every Dec. 1, the world joins together to raise awareness of AIDS research, treatment and prevention. The following is a timeline marking the key moments in the AIDS epidemic.

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