By Karen Roush, MS, RN, FNP-C, AJN clinical managing editor

“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.”

So began the MMWR of June 5, 1981—the first herald of what became known as AIDS. Reading that report now, knowing the devastation that would follow, is chilling.

Today is World AIDS Day. It has been 30 years.

In some ways, we need this day more than ever, to remind us of the devastating potential of this condition—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that only 28% of people in the U.S. infected with HIV get the treatment they need to suppress the virus. We need it to remind us of the millions who continue to suffer and die from it, mostly in Africa where two thirds of the AIDS cases occur.

We should also take time today to celebrate the victories. We’ve come far in the last 30 years. Effective treatments have been developed. Civil rights protections have been put in place. People with HIV can […]