30th Commemoration of HIV/AIDS

Thirty years ago this June, an article reporting the first known cases of what we now call AIDS was published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Since then, we’ve made great strides in HIV prevention and treatment, and new infections have dropped more than two-thirds since the height of the epidemic. But, HIV remains a crisis in our country and we must remain strong in our resolve to end this epidemic. The reality remains that about 50,000 new infections occur each year in the U.S. and, today, more than one million people are living with HIV in our nation. Reducing HIV rates in the U.S. is not only possible – it’s imperative – and new advances in HIV prevention hold promise in changing the course of this epidemic.

This page offers a number of resources to assist in your coverage of this commemoration.

Timelines

Over the past 30 years, there have been significant moments in the fight against AIDS. See below timelines of key milestones – highlighting America’s response to the epidemic, across the nation and in specific communities.

Page last reviewed: May 23, 2011