Thirty years ago, the CDC released it's first report on what would later be called AIDS

from original report:

Pneumocystis Pneumonia --- Los Angeles

In the period October 1980-May 1981, 5 young men, all active homosexuals, were treated for biopsy-confirmed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia at 3 different hospitals in Los Angeles, California. Two of the patients died. All 5 patients had laboratory-confirmed previous or current cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and candidal mucosal infection. Case reports of these patients follow.

here's a link to the original - http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/june_5.htm

30 years and still no 'cure'.

30 years later, and gay men are still stigmatized.

It's just so damn frightening and sad. And what really makes me mad was the way Reagan handled it - or didn't handle it, I should say. He didn't speak publicly about it until '85 or '86, meanwhile all these people are dying. He was a terrible president. I often wondered how he slept at night.

And even now there are people who still think it only affects gay men and drug-addicts. Um no, that's way off - it could happen to anyone, that's what's so frightening.

Has anyone seen "And The Band Played On" (1993)?

Quote :

In a prologue set in 1976, American epidemiologist Don Francis arrives in a village on the banks of the Ebola River in DR Congo and discovers many of the residents and the doctor working with them have died from a mysterious illness later identified as Ebola hemorrhagic fever. It is his first exposure to such an epidemic, and the images of the dead he helps cremate will haunt him when he later becomes involved with HIV and AIDS research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 1981, Francis becomes aware of a growing number of deaths from unexplained sources among gay men in Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco, and is prompted to begin an in-depth investigation of the possible causes. Working with no money, limited space, and outdated equipment, he comes in contact with politicians and numerous members of the medical community, many of whom resent his involvement because of their personal agendas, and gay leaders. Of the latter, some—such as Bill Kraus—support him, while others express resentment at what they see as unwanted interference in their lifestyles, especially his attempts to close the local bathhouses. While Francis pursues his theory that AIDS is caused by a sexually transmitted virus on the model of feline leukemia, he finds his efforts are stonewalled by, among others, the CDC, which is loath to prove the disease is transmitted through blood, and competing French and American scientists, particularly Dr. Robert Gallo, who squabble about who should receive credit for discovering the virus. Meanwhile, the death toll climbs rapidly.

It's a dramatization so I'm not sure how factual everything is but I thought it was sad and interesting.

First man ‘functionally cured’ of HIV
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110603/us_yblog_thelookout/first-man-functionally-cured-of-hiv

Apparent Immunity Gene ‘Cures’ Bay Area Man Of AIDS
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/05/16/apparent-immunity-gene-cures-bay-area-man-of-aids/

The first time I really heard about AIDS was when I saw "The Ryan White Story". I remember going out and finding his book and reading that, too. I don't really remember hearing about AIDS before then.