Tina Smith: “I rise to recognize a bittersweet occasion: the 25th anniversary of the first reported AIDS case. June 5 will forever be…”

“I rise to recognize a bittersweet occasion: the 25th anniversary of the first reported AIDS case. June 5 will forever be a day to reflect upon the lives that have been impacted by the HIV/AIDS virus and the significant progress we have made in its detection, control, and treatment. While much ground has been gained over the last quarter of a century, there remains a great deal of work to be done. That is why I stand today to pledge a sustained commitment to the global fight against HIV/AIDS--a fight that we cannot abandon until and effective cure is discovered. Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Michael Gottlieb with the UCLA Hospital reported an extremely rare pneumonia in five young gay men to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC. One of these men, named ``Chuck,'' was from Oregon. Unbeknownst to Dr. Gottlieb, this seemingly insignificant incident ultimately evolved into one of the most significant health events of the modern era. It was 3 years later that the cause of this mysterious outbreak of pneumonia was attributed to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV. Sadly, for ``Chuck'' this discovery was made too late; he passed away shortly after he fell ill. Since 1981, an estimated 25 million individuals have died from the AIDS virus worldwide. What is even more alarming is that 16,000 new cases of HIV are diagnosed every day, quickly adding to the 40 million people who have already contracted the virus.…”