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What were the first recognized AIDS cases in the United States?

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AIDS Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1 virions (green) budding from a cultured lymphocyte. Multiple round bumps on the cell surface represent sites of virion assembly and budding.

The first recognized cases of what would later be identified as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the United States were reported in 1981.12

On June 5, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report describing five cases of a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, among homosexual men in Los Angeles. The following month, the CDC reported an outbreak of a rare cancer known as Kaposi sarcoma in homosexual men in New York City and San Francisco, often accompanied by opportunistic infections like P. carinii pneumonia.1

Because these initial outbreaks were observed among gay men, the condition was sometimes erroneously referred to as "gay-related immune deficiency" (GRID) or the "gay plague". However, it was soon recognized that the disease also affected other populations, including intravenous drug users and women with male sexual partners, leading to the adoption of the term AIDS in 1982.12