In 1981, the CDC reported cases involving young gay men and a rare lung infection, pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. By June 5, 1981, two of the five men infected with the disease had died. This is the first time the AIDS epidemic has been released. (Multiple) At that time, AIDS was a new disease, there is nothing new about a new epidemic, which can effectively decimate a population. When the report was published, within a few days doctors around the world were reporting similar cases. Shortly thereafter, the CDC receives reports of cases of a rare form of cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, among a group of gay men in New York and California. By July 3, Kaposi's sarcoma affected 41 gay men. A total of 270 cases were reported during the year and 121 of them died. (Several) By January 1982 they had opened their own emergency clinic. In the treatment of all diseases it is necessary to understand the emotional, economic, psychological and sometimes even political impact caused by the disease. This is true in the case of a devastating disease like AIDS. AIDS is not the end of the world, but it is simply the greatest challenge the medical community has ever seen. There are new things to be invented, cures for many diseases, including immunization and the cure for AIDS. The result of this disease is the destruction of the patient's immune system. Since the infected person has no ability to fight any infection because the virus destroys the cells that normally fight the infection, the person becomes susceptible to all other diseases. I understand firsthand what you go through while fighting this disease. My Uncle Dale died at the age of thirty-eight. He was the youngest and my mother was the oldest, so to see him go early... middle of paper..., while we know that with the availability of antiretrovirals, people can lead healthy lives even when they are HIV positive. No disease has been treated with the same hysteria as HIV and this is due to the stigma and promiscuity associated with it. CONCLUSIONS In 1985, AIDS was seen as an immediate, and moreover horrible, death sentence for the infected person. There was an apocalyptic fear that this epidemic could wipe out humanity. Now, while there is still no cure for AIDS, education and other aggressive actions are stemming the spread of the disease. On an individual basis, the length and quality of life of people living with the AIDS virus is increasing dramatically. Medicine will eventually defeat AIDS, and with the certainty that it has done so, doctors will be better prepared and equipped to deal with the next plague when and if it arrives..