In 1981, Dr. Michael Gottlieb of UCLA identified a new disease that, among its many signs, severely weakened the immune system. Named acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), this disease was initially seen among gay men in large cities.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), identified in 1985, is transmitted through blood, genital fluids (such as semen) and breastmilk.
The earliest confirmed case of AIDS in the U.S. was in 1968, with the first case in Virginia reported in 1982. With no known cure, HIV/AIDS was initially a death sentence for those infected.
Participants in this 1987 candlelight AIDS memorial vigil walked down E. Grace Street from St. Paul's Episcopal Churh to Capitol Square in Richmond, Va.
This parade float from Richmond’s Adventure Days (1929) served as a public health reminder of cholera, noting “Richmonders Died at the Average Age of 24 in 1872.”
After the influenza virus was finally identified in 1933, researchers immediately started to develop a vaccine. The first flu vaccine was approved for U.S. military use in 1945 and for civilian use in 1946.
Unfortunately, the flu has several types, and many types come in multiple strains—each of which has to be included in a vaccine to provide protection. Each year, scientists make their best prediction as to which flu variants will circulate that year and prepare a vaccine that treats a combination of the most likely strains. Sometimes the match is a good one, but sometimes unexpected strains mean the vaccine is less effective. Immunity also wears off and different strains emerge—which is why it’s important to get a flu shot every year.
V.85.37.2477, Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, The Valentine