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AIDS: 30 Years Later

30 years ago, four letters equaled a death sentence. AIDS was shrouded in mystery. Was it contagious by breathing the same air as an infected person? By touching them? Kissing them?

aids ribbon



In years since, research of HIV/AIDS has made the disease a more livable condition. This month, AARP Magazine highlights the lives of six 50+ HIV-positive Americans living and thriving.

But that doesn't mean researchers should stop the march to find a true cure. Some of the striking statistics shared in the article:

- Of the estimated 1.1 million Americans with HIV, some 407,000 are over 50

- One in seven new diagnoses of HIV or AIDS is in a person over 50.

- Latinos get HIV at 2.5 times the rate of whites.

- 95% of people on the waiting list for HIV treatment are in the South

- Black women are nearly 20 times more likely to get HIV than white women

- The average 55-year-old with HIV has three chronic conditions - the same number as a 75-year-old who is HIV-negative

From yoga to dog training to AIDS activism, see what keeps these six 50+ people passionate about life in " AIDS: 30 Years Later."

Photo Credit: dbking via Flickr

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