AIDS was first publicly reported on 5 June 1981 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Doctors in New York and San Francisco were seeing clusters of previously extremely rare diseases such as Pneumocystis carinii, and Kaposi’s sarcoma. These infections manifested in exceptionally serious forms, initially, within a narrowly defined risk group — young, homosexual men, and led to death within a short period. Soon it was clear these illnesses were occurring in other definable groups: haemophiliacs, blood transfusion recipients, and injecting drug users (IDUs). By 1982, cases were seen in the partners and infants of those infected. […] This year marks the 35th since AIDS was first identified and the epidemic faces a “mid-life” crisis.