San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, June 3, 2001
Johnny Miller, Chronicle Research Librarian

27,484 - The number of AIDS cases reported in San Francisco since 1980.

18,605 - The number of AIDS deaths in San Francisco.

56 - The number of AIDS deaths in San Francisco so far in 2001.

8,879 - The number of people living in San Francisco with AIDS.

THE NATION

900,000 - The estimated number of U.S. residents living with HIV.

320,282 - The number of U.S. residents living with AIDS.

40,000 - The number of new infections in the United States every year.

33 percent - The estimated percentage of those in America who have HIV, but don't know it.

438,795 - The number of AIDS deaths in the nation as of June 30, 1999.

WORLD

21.8 million - The worldwide death toll of AIDS through 2000.

80 percent - The percentage of worldwide infections resulting from heterosexual intercourse.

36.1 million - The estimated number of people worldwide living with HIV or AIDS, or about twice the population of Australia.

1981

The CDC publishes a report based on a mysterious outbreak of sometimes fatal pneumonia among gay men in Los Angeles. Kaposi's sarcoma, an uncommon skin cancer, is found in 26 gay men in New York City and California. By the end of the year, nine people have died in San Francisco.

1982

The syndrome is renamed AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome. AIDS begins infecting hemophiliacs who contract the disease through contaminated blood transfusions.

1983

The San Francisco Department of Public Health issues its first brochure on AIDS. U.S. health officials warn that the nation's blood supply may be contaminated and asks blood banks not to accept high-risk donors.

1984

Scientists identify the retrovirus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), that causes AIDS. San Francisco officials close gay bathhouses - believed to be where many men are passing sexually transmitted diseases - declaring them a "menace to public health."

1985

Actor Rock Hudson dies of AIDS. San Francisco's Irwin Memorial Blood Bank begins first antibody testing of donors. The first International AIDS Conference is held in Atlanta. By now, AIDS is reported in 51 countries.

1986

The World Health Organization recommends the distribution of sterile needles to drug addicts. U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop calls for a public-health response and sex education to combat the spread of AIDS.

1987

The FDA approves the sale of AZT, the first antiretroviral drug developed to fight AIDS. The activist group AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is founded. President Ronald Reagan gives his first speech on AIDS. The AIDS Memorial Quilt project begins in San Francisco. Chronicle AIDS writer Randy Shilts publishes "And The Band Played On," a seminal history of the AIDS epidemic.

1988

The FDA implements new regulations to fast-track new treatments for AIDS. The World Health Organization institutes "World AIDS Day" to be held each Dec. 1. By now, 63,422 people in the United States have died of AIDS.

1989

Congress moves to ban immigrants with HIV from entering the country.

1990

Hemophiliac Ryan White, who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion, dies at age 18. Congress adopts the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act authorizing more than $880 million in emergency relief to 16 cities affected by the epidemic.

1991

NBA star Earvin "Magic" Johnson reveals he's HIV-positive. The CDC reports that 1 million Americans are infected with HIV.

1992

The first clinical trials for multiple drug therapies are held.

1993

AIDS becomes the leading cause of death among young people. Kristine Gebbie is appointed U.S. AIDS czar.

1994

"And the Band Played On" author Randy Shilts dies of AIDS.

1995

Protease inhibitors, "cocktail" drug therapy, are introduced. AIDS becomes the leading cause of death among all Americans ages 25-44.

1996

Due in part to new drug therapies, the first AIDS hospice in San Francisco closes as fewer people are dying of AIDS.

1997

President Bill Clinton declares HIV/AIDS to be a severe and continuing crisis in ethnic minority communities.

1998

The world's first large-scale trial of an AIDS vaccine begins. The National Institutes of Health's Office of AIDS Research declares the global epidemic "out of control."

1999

After years of progress in preventing HIV transmission,infection rates in San Francisco dramatically increased. Health officials believe AIDS treatments may be translating into complacency and more risk-taking in the gay community.

2000

A White House report shows that half of new HIV infections in the United States occur among people 25 and younger. African Americans and Latinos account for nearly 70 percent of new HIV infections. International AIDS Conference in Durban highlights the fact that AIDS has become a global epidemic.

2001

Major drug companies respond to pressure from activists and competitors and offer steep discounts in Africa on expensive AIDS drugs, meaning life- extending medications can be more widely distributed. But activists push for even cheaper generic versions.

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