Dr. Stacey Rizza: Forty years of HIV/AIDS: Will the epidemic end?

June marks the 40th anniversary of the first scientific report describing pneumocystis pneumonia, which later became known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). More than 32 million people have died worldwide from AIDS and 38 million people are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The last 40 years of the HIV epidemic have been a fascinating look at society, science, medicine, and socioeconomic impacts of disease on communities and countries. Forty years ago was the very first report. Still, we didn't even know what the causative agent was," says Dr. Stacey Rizza, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases physician and HIV researcher.
Unfortunately, the AIDS crisis of the 1980s was steeped in misinformation and discrimination, especially against gay men who were disproportionately affected by the disease. Much progress has been made since that time, but there is still more work to be done.
"Being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS has a different meaning than it did just two decades ago, says Dr. Rizza. "It’s a whole new world, and, for those of us who are a little older and started treating HIV in the ‘90s and saw that world, it was tragic. We watched wonderful people who were brave and fought their virus but unfortunately, we weren’t able to stop the virus from replicating."
HIV is a sexually transmitted infection spread through contact with infected blood, semen or vaginal fluids. The virus also can be spread by sharing drug needles and syringes, and less commonly from mother to child.
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