40 years ago today, the first domestic cases of a rare pneumonia in a few gay men were reported. Like the beginnings of many diseases, it flew under the radar. It was the summer of 1981 and the Yuppies were in bloom. Stonewall had been 11 years earlier, but gays were much more in the closet than out. Most people did not know that they knew a gay person. (Honest.) And initially, as “GRID” (gay-related immune deficiency) spread, it was ignored by most people since it was completely outside of their “worlds”.

Lesson 1: We are ALL connected.

By early 1982, we knew that AIDS was found in the blood supply, and could be spread that way, initially affected hemophiliacs. Again, a subset of the population. In his book “Reimagining AIDS”, Robert Root-Bernstein described even earlier cases of AIDS, dating back close to a hundred years. For a few cases, in the 20^th century, there were saved tissue samples shown to have HIV. The rest is anecdotal. But we came to learn this disease came from Africa, zoonotic from monkeys, and likely entered the US during the 4^th of July celebrations in 1976. For a clear and accurate history, Randy Shilts “And the Band Played On” (the book, not the movie) is highly recommended. Continue Reading...