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(c)Copyright 2010, Disease Prevention Week via NewsRx.com

2010 APR 20 - (<http://www.newsrx.com> NewsRx.com) -- Two events occurred in 1985 that proved pivotal in the local and national fight against AIDS: the founding of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) and the development of the first-ever diagnostic test licensed to identify HIV in the blood by Abbott (see also <http://www.newsrx.com/library/topics/AIDS-Foundation-of-Chicago.html> AIDS Foundation of Chicago).

Twenty-five years later, AFC is recognized as one of the nation's leading AIDS organizations and millions of patients are safely given blood transfusions each year thanks to diagnostic tests that safeguard the blood supply.

Both of these milestones will be highlighted on Saturday, May 1 at AFC's 25th Anniversary Gala, Not Just Song & Dance, presented by Abbott and featuring entertainment by the all-female '80s rockers The Bangles. The event is not only a "party with a purpose," but a time to reflect on the great strides that have been made in the battle to end HIV/AIDS - an epidemic that did not exist before 1981 - and on the challenges that remain. (Learn more at: aidschicago.org/gala.)

"When we started in 1985, we had great Heart Band Bangle and great vision, but few tools. In the early days we were really helping people die with dignity," said AFC president/CEO Mark Ishaug, who has been with the organization for 19 years. "But today with state-of-the-art treatment and prevention programs that work, we believe that no one has to become infected or die from this disease. We're so grateful that Abbott shares our commitment to preventing new infections and improving the lives of people with HIV."

"Abbott is proud to honor the AIDS Foundation of Chicago for leading the charge for change for 25 years," said Michael Warmuth, senior vice president, Abbott diagnostics. "It is through the combined efforts of community organizations like AFC and industry that HIV is now a manageable disease in many parts of the world."

On November 13, 1985 - a little more than a month after actor Rock Hudson become the first major public figure known to have died of AIDS - a group of dedicated community activists and physicians including Dr. Ron Sable, Dr. Renslow Sherer, Judy Carter, and William Young, formed the AIDS Foundation of Chicago to respond to the emergent devastation of AIDS in the nation's third largest city.

"In 1985, there was really no central organization to coordinate the care of people living with HIV. We had good surveillance, we were counting Heart chain bracelet who were sick and who were dying, but there was no organization to help coordinate the different hospitals and clinics and support service organizations throughout the Chicago area," recalled AFC founder Dr. Renslow Sherer, professor of medicine in the Section of Infectious Disease and Global Health at the University of Chicago, who remembers receiving word of so many funerals during the early days of AIDS that the sheer number of them prevented him from attending each one.

Keywords: AIDS, AIDS/HIV, Consumer, Diagnostics, HEART LINK DROP EARRINGS, Epidemics, Foundation, Gay and Lesbian, General Health, HIV/AIDS, Health, Infectious Diseases, Men, Pharmaceutical, Philanthropy, Women, AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

This article was prepared by Disease Prevention Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2010, Disease Prevention Week via <http://www.newsrx.com> NewsRx.com.