​1977

 

​The first evidence for HIV-1 infection among IV drug users in New York City is from three cases of AIDS in children born in 1977. This likely mother-to-child transmission within Manhattan "strongly suggests that the introduction of HIV-1 into the IV drug-use group occurred around 1975 or 1976, or perhaps even earlier." (HIV-1 Infection Among Intravenous Drug Users in Manhattan, New York City, From 1977 Through 1987 JAMA)

​

1982

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December 17th: MMWR First reports of HIV in children in the United States reported to the CDC about 18 months after its first reported in adults. CDC received reports of 4 infants under the age of 2 with unexplained cellular immunodeficiency and opportunistic infections (National HIV Curriculum + Children and AIDS.org + MMWR)

​

1985 

 

SC-B1: Special Case (or child) Baby 1 is the “first child to have died of AIDS in New York City” is buried on Hart Island.

 

August 27: Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who contracted AIDS through contaminated blood products used to treat his hemophilia, is refused entry to his middle school. His family’s protracted legal battles to protect Ryan’s right to attend school call national attention to the issue of AIDS, and Ryan chooses to speak out publicly on the need for AIDS education. (HIV.Gov)

 

December 6th: CDC publishes a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report with recommendations on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. They include: delaying pregnancy until more is known about the risks of transmission and avoiding breastfeeding. As of December 1, there have been 217 reported cases of AIDS among children under age 13, and 60% of them have died by the time of publication. (HIV.Gov)

 

December 13: Pennsylvania toddler Dwight Burk, aged 20 months, dies of AIDS. He is the first child of a hemophiliac to be born with AIDS. (HIV.Gov)

 

1986

 

 

January 16: The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that more people were diagnosed with AIDS in 1985 than in all earlier years combined. The 1985 figures show an 89% increase in new AIDS cases compared with 1984. Of all AIDS cases to date, 51% of adults and 59% of children have died. The new report shows that, on average, AIDS patients die about 15 months after the disease is diagnosed. Public health experts predict twice as many new AIDS cases in 1986.

 

October 24: CDC reports that AIDS cases are disproportionately affecting African Americans and Latinos. This is particularly true for African American and Latinx children, who make up 90% of perinatally acquired AIDS cases. (HIV.Gov)

134 cases of perinatal HIV were identified in South Florida between January 1981 and December 1986. (Report of the Surgeon General’s Workshop on Children with HIV infection and their families)

 

1987

 

March 30: At least 471 children nationwide (under age 13) meet the strict requirements established by the CDC for AIDS. An additional number of two or three times more are infected with HIV but do not meet CDC criteria (around 2,000) This is double than reported the previous year 60% of those children already dead. 72% of cases reported in Florida, New Jersey and New York. (Report of the Surgeon General’s Workshop on Children with HIV infection and their families)

 

August 5: A federal judge orders Florida’s DeSoto County School Board to enroll HIV-positive brothers, Ricky, Robert, and Randy Ray. The board had refused to allow the three boys, who have hemophilia, to attend. After the ruling, outraged town residents refuse to allow their children to attend school, and someone sets fire to the Ray house on August 28, destroying it. (HIV.Gov)

Cedar-Sinai “look back study” concludes that 34 out of about 700 babies born prematurely between 1980 and 1985 received HIV contaminated blood at Cedar-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. At least 12 children died as a result (LA Times)

 

1988

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March 3: Ryan White, the Indiana teenager who has become a national spokesperson for AIDS education, testifies about the stigma he has endured as a result of having AIDS before the President’s Commission on AIDS. (HIV.Gov)

 

November 28: Elizabeth Glaser an HIV-positive mother of two HIV-positive children forms the Pediatric AIDS Foundation (later renamed the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation). The Foundation funds cutting-edge research that leads to improved treatments for children living with HIV/AIDS and helps to establish protocols to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. (HIV.Gov)

 

October 18: The Abandoned Infants Assistance (AIA) Act [PDF, 262KB] becomes law; it addresses the issue of so-called “boarder babies.” These infants, many of whom have been perinatally exposed to drugs or HIV, have been either been orphaned or left at hospitals indefinitely by their parents. The AIA funds demonstration projects to support moving these children into foster care or other more traditional living arrangements. (HIV.Gov)

 

1989

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A CDC/HRSA initiative provides $11 million to fund seven community health centers to provide HIV counseling and testing services. This is a precursor to what will be part of the Ryan White CARE Act. (HIV.Gov)

 

1990

​

April 8: Ryan White dies of AIDS-related illness at the age of 18. (HIV.Gov)

 

October 26: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves use of zidovudine (AZT) for pediatric AIDS. (HIV.Gov)

 

1991

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February: Aaron Kasper dies of AIDS at age 9 after HIV tainted infusion at Cedar-Sinai (apart of Cedar-Sinai Lawsuit) (LA Times)

 

1992

​

December 13: Florida teenager Ricky Ray dies of AIDS-related illness. The 15-year-old hemophiliac and his two younger brothers sparked a national conversation on AIDS after their court battle to attend school led to boycotts by local residents and the torching of their home. (HIV.Gov)

 

March 25th: 7 year old Hydeia Broadbent appears on Nick News Special Edition: A Conversation with Magic Johnson.

July: Aaron Barbakow dies at age 11 after HIV tainted infusion at Cedar-Sinai (apart of Cedar-Sinai Lawsuit) (LA Times)

 

1994

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August 5: The U.S. Public Health Service recommends that pregnant women be given the antiretroviral drug AZT to reduce the risk of perinatal transmission of HIV. (HIV.Gov)

 

1996

 

The U.S. Congress reauthorizes the Ryan White CARE Act on May 20. (HIV.Gov)

 

Hydeia Broadbent appears at the Republican National convention stating: “I am the future, and I have AIDS”

 

1997

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First international conference devoted to global strategies to prevent mother to child HIV transmission held in the United States (children and aids.org)

 

2002

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Worldwide, 10 million young people, aged 15-24, and almost 3 million children under 15 are living with HIV.  (HIV.Gov)

 

2004

 

February: UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS) launches The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS to raise the visibility of the epidemic’s impact on women and girls around the world. (HIV.Gov)

 

2013

 

March 4: NIH-funded scientists announce the first well-documented case of an HIV-infected child, designated as “the Mississippi Baby,” who appears to have been functionally cured of HIV infection (i.e., no detectable levels of virus or signs of disease, even without antiretroviral therapy. (HIV.Gov)

 

March 5th: Hydeia Broadbent says “HIV is no longer a death sentence, but a life sentence.” (ABC News)

June 18: Secretary of State John Kerry announces that, thanks to direct PEPFAR support, more than 1 million infants have been born HIV-free since 2003. (HIV.Gov)

 

 

2014

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July 10: The National Institutes of Health announce that the “Mississippi baby” now has detectable levels of HIV after more than two years of showing no evidence of the virus. (HIV.Gov)

Mary Bowman recites her poem “Dandelions” at the Speak Up! Summit 

 

 

2015

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June 30: The World Health Organization certifies that Cuba is the first nation to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of both HIV and syphilis. (HIV.Gov)

 

We’re Still Here (2015) is a documentary film by Grissel Granados and John Thompson. It shares the untold stories of the first generation of children who were born with HIV in the 1980s and 1990s. The film follows director Grissel Granados as she embarks on her own journey to seek out other people who were born with HIV and create community where it hadn’t existed before. For the first time on screen, people who were born with HIV are telling their stories in their own words and on their own terms. We’re Still Here gives testament to those who weren’t supposed to be here, and who refuse to be forgotten in the history of HIV/AIDS. 

 

2018

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January 24: The National Institutes of Health launches a large international study to compare the safety and efficacy of antiretroviral treatment regimens for pregnant women living with HIV and their infants. It will provide data on the use of newer HIV medications during pregnancy, helping to ensure that women living with HIV and their infants receive the best available treatments. (HIV.Gov)

 

2019

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May: Mary Bowman, Lifetime Survivor, poet and activist dies at age 30 

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2023

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February 1: HHS updates the HIV clinical practice guidelines to clarify breastfeeding options for people with HIV and support shared decision-making between them and their healthcare providers. (HIV.Gov)

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September: The largest group of Lifetime Survivors convene at USCHA in Washington DC to introduce themselves to the HIV community as “Lifetime Survivors” and “Dandelions” (POZ Magazine)

 

2024

​

February 20th: Hydeia Broadbent dies at the age of 39