40 years ago, the first AIDS cases were reported in the US

It was the first time that acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) — the devastating advanced-stage of HIV infection that would go on to claim the lives of more than 32 million people globally — was reported in the US.

Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the nation’s first reported cases of AIDS. More than 700,000 people in the US have died of the disease since then — and though medical advancements have drastically changed the prognosis for HIV/AIDS patients, there remains to this day no cure.