"As the epidemic grew through the 1980s, all gay men lived with AIDS, whether infected or not. Thirty..."

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As the epidemic grew through the 1980s, all gay men lived with AIDS, whether infected or not. Thirty years ago today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first cases of the disease. It was a helpless and terrifying time. Medical information grew. We learned about H.I.V. and sexual transmission, but everything was misty and qualified.

Nothing you knew or did mattered. There was no treatment. Every sniffle threatened something worse, every germ was a dagger pointed at your immune system. A good friend stomped out of my house one night, furious I’d served pork for dinner, because pork, everyone knew, could kill you if you had “it.” Even after the test became available, many chose not to know. When my partner and I tested positive, we shrugged. We already knew.

”

- From the op-ed by Mark Trautwein: The Death Sentence That Defined My Life - via New York Times.

AIDS 30th Anniversary Marks a Cure!

AIDS 30th Anniversary Marks a Cure!:

A cure sounds utterly amazing but that doesn’t mean that current medications and prevention efforts should be halted.  Statistics indicate that newly diagnosed patients have really high life expectancies that are only a mere few months shorter than healthy people who do not have HIV.  We need to continue our hard-work and dedication to this very serious cause.  No disease has a one-size-fit all treatment so we cannot rely on a newly discovered miraculous gene to solve AIDS; especially when we aren’t necessarily willing to dish out the cost.  June 8th, 2011 marks an important date for AIDS.  The United Nations’ General Assembly will be meeting to figure out what should be done next.

With the 30th anniversary of the AIDS virus coming, AIDSVu.org...

With the 30th anniversary of the AIDS virus coming, AIDSVu.org has created an interactive map that brings the full extent of the problem to light. 

30th Anniversary of AIDS: More Living Longer

More than 30 percent of all those with HIV are 50 years old or older, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2008, the most recent year for which data is available. That’s up from 26 percent in 2006. Now, geriatricians are incorporated into the care of HIV patients. Many face the natural physical decline of old age along with the cumulative effects and symptoms of living with AIDS.

Read More from MSNBC Here.