On the recordJune 5, 2001
I rise to speak on the 20-year anniversary of a truly remarkable event which, at the time, no one in the world would have envisioned its impact--its impact on people throughout the United States and on people throughout the world--indeed, its impact on impact. No one could have foreseen an impact which, from a public health perspective, has resulted in the single worst public health crisis since the bubonic plague ravaged Europe more than 600 years ago. That event occurring 20 years ago today was the publication of a brief description of the first five cases of a disease that could not be explained. The five people mentioned happened to have been infected with a virus that had never previously been described, and which at the time had no name. The five people had been infected with what was later called the HIV virus, and they died of complications associated with AIDS. It was a case study. It was published by the CDC.
Source
govinfo.gov
