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World AIDS Day

The Early Years of HIV/AIDS - A Timeline

In the early 1980s, a mysterious and devastating disease emerged, shrouded in misinformation and fear. This crisis would become known as the AIDS epidemic, one of the most significant and challenging public health issues of the modern era. The emergence of AIDS was marked by confusion, prejudice, and stigma, particularly against the gay community. This virtual timeline delves into the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic, with a focus on the 1980s, a period when the world first became aware of the disease. The timeline was researched and created by David Carson and Ivan Portillo, Health Sciences Librarians at the Leatherby Libraries.

1800s: The origin of HIV infection in humans can be traced back to a species of chimpanzee in Central Africa. Ongoing research suggests that the transmission of HIV from chimpanzees to humans may have occurred as early as the late 1800s.
June 5, 1981: the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) releases a report in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that documents instances of an uncommon lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), occurring in five young, previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles. This MMWR issue marks the initial official documentation that marks the beginning of the AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) epidemic.
June 5, 1981: Dr. Alvin Friedman-Kien, a dermatologist in New York, contacts the CDC to notify them about a group of instances of a rare and unusually aggressive cancer called Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) among gay men in New York and California. Similar to PCP, KS is linked to individuals with compromised immune systems.
July 3, 1981: The New York Times publishes an article entitled “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals,” and the term “gay cancer” becomes widely used. The framing of the disease as specific to gay men contributed to the stigmatization of the gay community and the misconception that AIDS was solely a gay men's disease.
December 10, 1981: CDC reports a case of AIDS that resulted from a blood transfusion.
May 11, 1982: The New York Times publishes the first mention of the term “GRID” (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency), which deepened the perception that AIDS only affects gay men
September 9, 1982: The CDC identifies all significant modes of HIV transmission, emphasizing that the virus is not spread through casual contact, food, water, air, or environmental surfaces.
September 24, 1982: The CDC first uses the term “AIDS” (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) in a new MMWR and released the first case definition.
May 20, 1983: Dr. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and her team at the Pasteur Institute in France announce the identification of a retrovirus that may be responsible for AIDS.
April 23, 1984: Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, particularly Dr. Robert Gallo, independently discover the virus and call it Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus-III (HTLV-III).
January 11, 1985: The CDC updates the AIDS case definition to acknowledge that AIDS is attributed to a recently identified virus. Additionally, the CDC issues preliminary recommendations for blood screening.
May 1, 1986: The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses announces the official designation of the virus responsible for AIDS as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

References

About HIV/AIDS. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Published June 30, 2022. Accessed November 10, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/whatishiv.html
HIV and AIDS Timeline. National Prevention Information Network. Published January 9, 2023.https://npin.cdc.gov/pages/hiv-and-aids-timeline#1980
Timeline of The HIV and AIDS Epidemic. HIV.gov. Accessed November 10, 2023. https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/history/hiv-and-aids-timeline

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The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) releases a report in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that documents instances of an uncommon lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), occurring in five young, previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles. This MMWR issue marks the initial official documentation that marks the beginning of the AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) epidemic. Image Attribution: US gov't, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) releases a report in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that documents instances of an uncommon lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia…
more
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses announces the official designation of the virus responsible for AIDS as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Image Attribution: International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses announces the official designation of the virus responsible for AIDS as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Image Attribution: International…
more
Dr. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and her team at the Pasteur Institute in France announce the identification of a retrovirus that may be responsible for AIDS. Image Attribution: Prolineserver, GFDL 1.2 , via Wikimedia Commons
Dr. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and her team at the Pasteur Institute in France announce the identification of a retrovirus that may be responsible for AIDS. Image Attribution: Prolineserver, GFDL 1.2 ,…
more
The CDC first uses the term “AIDS” (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) in a new MMWR and released the first case definition. Image Attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The CDC first uses the term “AIDS” (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) in a new MMWR and released the first case definition. Image Attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public…
more
The CDC identifies all significant modes of HIV transmission, emphasizing that the virus is not spread through casual contact, food, water, air, or environmental surfaces. Image Attribution: CDC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The CDC identifies all significant modes of HIV transmission, emphasizing that the virus is not spread through casual contact, food, water, air, or environmental surfaces. Image Attribution: CDC,…
more
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, particularly Dr. Robert Gallo, independently discover the virus and call it Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus-III (HTLV-III). Image Attribution: U.S. Government, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, particularly Dr. Robert Gallo, independently discover the virus and call it Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus-III (HTLV-III). Image Attribution: U.S.…
more
The CDC updates the AIDS case definition to acknowledge that AIDS is attributed to a recently identified virus. Additionally, the CDC issues preliminary recommendations for blood screening. Image Attribution: hivinfo.nih.gov, public domain.
The CDC updates the AIDS case definition to acknowledge that AIDS is attributed to a recently identified virus. Additionally, the CDC issues preliminary recommendations for blood screening. Image…
more
July 3, 1981: The New York Times publishes an article entitled “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals” and the term “gay cancer” becomes widely used. Image Attribution: Haxorjoe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
July 3, 1981: The New York Times publishes an article entitled “Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals” and the term “gay cancer” becomes widely used. Image Attribution: Haxorjoe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via…
more
Dr. Alvin Friedman-Kien, a dermatologist in New York, contacts the CDC to notify them about a group of instances of a rare and unusually aggressive cancer called Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) among gay men in New York and California. Similar to PCP, KS is linked to individuals with compromised immune systems. Image Attribution: Nephron, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dr. Alvin Friedman-Kien, a dermatologist in New York, contacts the CDC to notify them about a group of instances of a rare and unusually aggressive cancer called Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) among gay men in…
more