AEGiS-SC: Remembering Victims Of AIDS: Recalling the past to enlighten the future

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Remembering Victims Of AIDS: Recalling the past to enlighten the future

San Francisco Chronicle - Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Hundreds of people gathered Sunday evening in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood to remember those who have succumbed to the complications of HIV and AIDS. Each person at the corner of Market and Castro streets held a candle and an iris. The flower -- which is symbolic of life, hope, healing and strength in many cultures -- is named for the Greek goddess of the rainbow who brought messages between the heavens and Earth and helped usher souls to the afterlife. The Castro neighborhood represented ground zero for the AIDS virus when the disease, which then was almost always lethal, was discovered 25 years ago. In the early years of the epidemic, it was estimated that more than half of San Francisco's gay community was infected. But infection rates have dropped, including 20 percent from 2001 to the present, according to city officials. In the past 25 years, acquired immune deficiency syndrome has killed 25 million people worldwide, including about 18,000 in San Francisco, and 38.6 million more are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. It is estimated that 9 out of 10 people who are infected have yet to be tested, according to the United Nations' AIDS program.
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