Pneumocystis Pneumonia—Los Angeles

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

As part of its commemoration of CDC's 50th anniversary, MMWR is reprinting selected MMWR articles of historical interest to public health, accompanied by a current editorial note. On June 4, 1981, MMWRpublished a report aboutPneumocystis cariniipneumonia in homosexual men in Los Angeles. This was the first published report of what, a year later, became known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This report and current editorial note appear below. IN THE PERIOD October 1980-May 1981,5 young men, all active homosexuals, were treated for biopsy-confirmedPneumocystis cariniipneumonia at 3 different hospitals in Los Angeles, California. Two of the patients died. All 5 patients had laboratory-confirmed previous or current cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and candidal mucosal infection. Case reports of these patients follow. Patient 1: A previously healthy 33-year-old man developedP. cariniipneumonia and oral mucosal candidiasis in March 1981 after a 2-month history of fever associated