This week marks 30 years since the first report of a mysterious and deadly new syndrome that would come to be known as AIDS was published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). At the time, no one could have predicted the enormous toll the disease would take—claiming the lives of more than 500,000 Americans and many millions worldwide. Today we remember those we have lost, and honor them by recommitting ourselves to the fight against this deadly yet preventable disease.
Over the last three decades, prevention efforts have helped reduce new infections and treatment advances have allowed people with HIV to live longer, healthier lives. But as these improvements have taken place, our nation's collective sense of crisis has waned. Far too many Americans underestimate their risk of infection or believe HIV is no longer a serious health threat, but they must understand that HIV remains an incurable infection. We must increase our resolve to end this epidemic.
