World AIDS Day

25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981

According to UNAIDS, each day 1,500 children around the world become infected with HIV, most of them newborns. Fewer than one in five poeple worldwide, at risk of becomeing infected with HIV has access to basic prevention services. Around the world, only one in eight people who want to be tested are able to do so.
Increasing available prevention strategies in 125 low and middle-income countries would have avert an estimated 28 million new infections between now and 2015 more than half of those that are projected to occur during this period-and would save $24 billion in related treatment costs.
To mark World AIDS Day in Dec1, we look at key events in the history of the disease and some of the famous names that have been affected by it.


Origins

Scientists believe the simian immunodefeciency virus spread from monkeys to human between the 1920s and 1940s, perhaps through African hunters` contact with infected animals.

1959
A man in with is now Kinshasa. Congo dies after exhibiting symptoms resembling sickle-cell anemia. Doctors save samples of his blood, and researchers later determine that he had the first known case of AIDS.

1969
A 15-years-old St louis boy suspected of prostitution dies of mysterious causes; tests of his blood later prove he was HIV-positive.

1978
Multiple cases of what will be known as AIDS appear in the US and elsewhere among gaymen.

1981
> Centers for Disease Control reports on June 5 that five homosexual men in Los Angeles were treated for a rare type of pneumonia and two died.
> On July 4, CDC reports 26 cases of Kaposi's sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, among gay men.
> The disease is first called "gay cancer", then gay related immune deficiency (GRID). In october, CDC declares the disease an epidemic.

1982
CDC renames the disease AIDS, acquiredd immune deficiency syndrome.

1983
> Scientists at France's Pasteur Institute discover what is later named human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
> Researchers confirm that the virus can be spread by heterosexual contact.

1985
> Ryan White, a 13-year-old Indiana boy who contacted AIDS from a blood transfusion, is barred from attending school and becomes a poster child for the stigma associated with disease.
> Movie star Rock Hudson dies of AIDS, makinng the disease a household word.

1986
President Reagen says research is a top priority to combat this "major epidemic public health threat."

1987
AZT, the first drug approved to fight HIV, goes on the market at a cost of $10,000 for a one-year supply

1988
Dec 1 is named World AIDS Day.

1989
Responding to two years of protests, Burroughs wellcome lowers the price of AZT by 20 per cent.

1990
>Ronald Reagan apologises for his neglect of the epidemic during his presidency.
>President Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act, banning discrimination againts people with disabilities, including those with HIV.
>American fashion designer Halston and 18-year-old Ryan White die of AIDS.

1991
> los Angeles Lakers star Earvin "Magic " Johnson announces that he is HIV-positive, having become infected by heterosexual activity.
> Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, dies a day after announcing that he has AIDS.

1992
> The FDA begins an accelerated approval process for AIDS drugs.
> Actor Robert Reed, who played the father on "The Brady bunch," dies of AIDS.

1993
> "Angels in America," a play about AIDS, win the Ashe die of AIDS.

1994
> HIV becomes the leading cause of death for American men between 25 and 44 years old.
> The first "AIDS czar," Kristine Gebbie, resigns after months of criticsm that she is ineffective at coordinating AIDS policy.
> Activist Elizabeth Glaser and author Randy Shilts die of AIDS.

1995
> AIDS patient Jeff Getty receives a controversial bone marroe transplant from a baboon.
> Olimpic diver Greg Lougains announces that he has AIDS, raising questions about whether other divers were exposed to infection when he hit his head on a diving board and bled intio pool at the 1988 Olimpics.
> Rapper Eric "Eazy-E" Wright, a cofounder of the NWA rap group, dies of AIDS.

1996
> Heavyweight boxer Tommy Morrison, a former WBO world champion, is found to be HIV positive after a mandatory test by boxing authorities, forcing him to retire.
> "Rent" a play featuring characters with AIDS, wins the Tony Awards for best musical.
> Time magazine names AIDS researcher David Ho its man of the year.

1997
US AIDS deaths fall 40 per cent from the previous year, primarily due to a combination of drugs called an AIDS cocktail

1998
African Americans account for 49 per cent of all US AIDS deaths.
UN directive discourages women with HIV from breast-feeding.

1999
CDC's HIV Prevention Conference notes that new AIDS cases and AIDS deaths have levelled off but warns against complacency.

2000
South African President Thabo Mbeki, whose country has the most AIDS cases, causes an uproar by asserting that AIDS is not caused by HIV but is a byproduct of peverty.

2001
> The UN adopts a global blueprint for action against AIDS including increased funding, education and distribution of drugs.

2002
> FDA approves an HIV testing device, OraQuick, that produces resu;ts in 20 minutes.
> South Africa's version of"Sesame Street" introduces an HIV-positive Muppet, Kami.

2003
> President Bush launches an initiative to spend $15 billion over five years to combat AIDS in Africa and Th Caribbean.

2004
> FDA approves a new version of the OraQuick HIV test that uses saliva instead of blood

2005
> Scientists reportmthat more than 40 million people worldwide are living with HIV.
> Nelson Mandela discloses that his 54-year-old son, Makgatho Mandela, has died of AIDS.

2006
june 5 marks the 25th anniversary of the first CDC report about AIDS.
UNAIDS estimates hat 25 million people worldwide have died of AIDS since 1981.


CAUTION

AIDS is the most killing disease in the world. Who are the next targets? Save your live, and other right now.