Infographic: The Changing Face of AIDS [via GOOD]

1981

On June 5th, the U.S. Center for Disease Control publishes a report explaining that an unknown cause has stricken 5 gay men in Los Angeles with a rare pneumonia.

The first cases of this mysterious cause are among gay men, and later, injecting drug users. 121 people reportedly die from the disease by the end of the year.

It seems like something I should have really known, but I admit that I had no idea that AIDS was first discovered because of 5 men in Los Angeles.

Reading the 30-year timeline on AIDS that DoSomething put out was informative. Made me also realize how scary it must have been to live in America in the 1980s when this first began.

I found this amazing:

2010

Doctors cure an HIV positive man after five years of bone marrow transplants and radiation therapy. As of 2011, the approach will only work for a small number of people.

There’s amazing progress going on. And with Obama pledging an additional $50 million to combat AIDS, hopefully we’ll have a cure soon.