AIDS@40: Stories of hope and heroes
The people and the science devoted to stopping HIV Álex Cámara / Getty Images
June 5, 2021, will mark 40 years since Los Angeles physician Dr. Michael Gottlieb and colleagues published the first medical account of what would eventually become known as AIDS. It was a short summary in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s printed weekly newsletter of five cases of pneumonia in gay men, all of whom eventually died. The global story that has unfolded since is an unspeakable tragedy. HIV/AIDS has claimed more than 32.7 million lives, dwarfing the toll of the current COVID-19 pandemic.