| DISCOVERY |
POLITICS |
PEOPLE |
EPIDEMIOLOGY |
Before 1959
HIV, originally a viral infection of chimpanzees in west central Africa, begins infecting humans. |
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1959
A man from the Congo dies of AIDS. He is later declared the first known human death from the virus.
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1980
31 people in the United States died of what is later determined to be complications of AIDS. |
1981
Homosexual men in the United States begin dying of an unknown disease that causes immune system failure - it is originally named Gay Related Immunodeficiency (GRID). |
1981
The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports the first case of what is later determined to be AIDS.
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1981
At the time that the CDC published it's report, 250,000 people are already infected with HIV in the US. |
1982
Cases of the disease are also found among IV drug users, hemophiliacs, and immigrants - it is renamed Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The disease has been linked to transmission through blood. |
1982
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) launches the first investigation into what is being called GRID. |
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1982
In the United States, about 1,600 cases of AIDS have been reported and about 600 people have died. |
1983
The virus that causes AIDS is discovered in France; it is later named Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). |
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1983
National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), releases a mission statement calling for a humane response to the crisis. This becomes known as "The Denver Principles." |
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1985
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the first HIV antibody test. |
1985
The first international conference on AIDS is held in Atlanta. |
1985
Film star Rock Hudson is the first public figure to disclose that he has AIDS. 14-year-old Ryan White is banned from his Indiana school because he has AIDS. |
1985
AIDS cases have been reported in 51 countries. |
1986
A second type of HIV, HIV-2, is discovered by Dr. Luc Montagnier. HIV-2 is less lethal and infectious than HIV-1. |
1986
Although the disease was widely recognized and called AIDS since 1982, U. S. president Ronald Reagan did not use the word AIDS in public until 1986. He apologizes for this in 1990. |
1986
The Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS is created. |
1986
In the United States, about 37,000 cases of AIDS have been reported. |
1987
The FDA approves azidothymidine (AZT), the first anti-HIV drug. |
1987
World Health Organization (WHO) forms the Special Programme on AIDS. The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) is formed as Africa's first AIDS-based community organization. |
1987
Liberace dies of complications from AIDS. |
1987
World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 100,000 - 150,000 AIDS cases worldwide. |
1988
Dr. Jonas Salk attempts to develop an AIDS vaccine using killed bits of HIV, but it fails. |
1988
Office of AIDS research is established by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH). |
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1988
Women now account for half of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. |
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1990
President Bush signs the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act authorizing $4.4 billion over five years for health care and support services in the 16 cities hardest hit by AIDS. |
1990
Ryan White dies of complications from AIDS. The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act is passed by Congress to help uninsured people with AIDS. |
1990
100,00 people in the U. S. have died from AIDS. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 1 million AIDS cases worldwide. |
1991
The FDA approves the second anti-HIV drug, didanosine, known as ddI. |
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1991
Professional basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson discloses that he is HIV positive. He retires from the Los Angeles Lakers. |
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1992
Zalcitabine, known as ddC, is approved by the FDA to be used in conjunction with AZT. |
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1992
HIV prevalence in Uganda and Thailand begins to decrease as a result of country-wide mobilization. |
1993
Needle exchange programs found to be successful in helping to prevent the spread of HIV. |
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1993
Tennis star Arthur Ashe dies of complications from AIDS. |
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1994
AZT found to reduce mother-to-child transmission. |
1994
Though HIV infection rates are doubling every year, newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela never mentions the word "AIDS" in public appearances. |
1994
AIDS educator and gay activist Pedro Zamora is featured on The Real World, a popular reality series. |
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1995
An increase in HIV infection is noted in IV drug users on eastern Europe. |
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1995
Olympic diver Greg Louganis discloses that he has AIDS. |
1995
The CDC announces the disease is the number one cause of death for Americans between age 25 and 44 |
1996
Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is revealed to be highly effective in treating AIDS but costs $20,000/patient/year. |
1996
The United Nations Program on AIDS (UNAIDS) is formed. |
1996
"Magic" Johnson briefly rejoins the Los Angeles Lakers. |
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1997
Judge Edwin Cameron of South Africa publicly discloses that he is HIV positive. |
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1997
Largely due to the development of HAART, AIDS-related deaths in the U.S. decline by more than 40 percent. |
1998
The first human trial of an HIV vaccine is begun in the United States. |
1998
Pharmaceutical companies sue the South African government for allowing purchase of brand-name drugs at reduced rates. The suit is dropped in 2001. |
1998
Dr. Alan Berkman and ACT UP activist Bob Lederer form the Health GAP Coalition to coordinate organizations dedicated to fighting global AIDS. |
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1999
Clinton announces that the U.S. will not level punitive trade sanctions against any sub-Saharan African country that wants to pursue parallel licenses or produce generic drugs. |
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1999
AIDS becomes the number one cause of death in sub Saharan Africa. |
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2000
The United Nations Security Council talks about AIDS for the first time. South African President Thabo Mbeki questions whether HIV is the cause of AIDS. |
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2001
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan plans for the funding of $7 billion a year for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in developing countries. |
2001
South African 12-year-old Nkosi Johnson, who was born with HIV, dies from complications of AIDS. |
2001
40 million are infected with HIV.
21.8 million people have died from AIDS. |
2002
A new finger-prick test made by OraSure can return HIV results in 20 minutes, as compared to the two weeks it previously took for results to be processed. |
2002
Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) apologizes for his prior opposition to AIDS spending and outreach and promises to do more. |
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2002
Five countries identified as the "next-wave" of the epidemic: Nigeria, Ethiopia, China, India, and Russia. These countries make up 40% of the world's population. |
2003
The FDA approves Fuzeon, the first of a new class of drugs called fusion inhibitors designed to block HIV's ability to penetrate its target, the immune system's CD4 T-cells. |
2003
United States' President George Bush signs $15 billion global AIDS bill to combat the disease.
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria awards Chile, Indonesia, Philippines, and eleven Western Pacific Islands $46 million. |
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2004
The UN launches the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS |
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2005
Leaders at the G8 Summit and the UN World Summit pledge to come as close as possible to the goal of universal access to ARV treatment worldwide by 2010. |
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2005
1.3 million people in mid-low income countries are receiving ARV out of the 6.5 million that currently need this treatment. |
2006
Merck and Gilead present promising data on a new class of drugs, integrase inhibitors, which stop the enzyme integrase that allows HIV's DNA to be incorporated into the T-cell's DNA. |
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2006
In sub-Saharan Africa, 74% of HIV+ people age 15-24 are female. |
