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July 25, 2012 Researchers at MIT have developed a pretty nifty computer model to figure out the most influential U.S. airports in the early stages of an epidemic's spread. John F. Kennedy International is No. 1, followed by Los Angeles International. You might be surprised to learn that Honolulu's airport ranks third.

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July 25, 2012 A handful of AIDS cases were first recognized in the U.S. at the beginning of the 1980s. By 1990, there was a pandemic. In 1997, more than 3 million people became newly infected with HIV. A multimedia chart lets you track the cases by country over time.

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July 24, 2012 Few strategies to prevent HIV infection are so effective, or so thoroughly proved. Yet needle exchanges aren't offered in some places that have been hit hard by the virus. In the U.S. there is pressure on funding that raises concerns the programs could be curtailed.

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July 23, 2012 The first reports of AIDS were from Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco among gay and bisexual men. Even now, you can see the lingering geographic contours of how the epidemic unfolded with AIDSVu, an interactive map developed by Emory University's school of public health.

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July 23, 2012 The leading international AIDS conference returns to the U.S. after a 22-year hiatus. A lot has happened in the years since the conference was last here. Treatments have turned a disease with a near-certain death sentence into a disease that people can live with for decades. And there is evidence that the epidemic could be greatly slowed or even stopped.

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July 23, 2012 A new approach in San Francisco provides HIV testing and treatment for patients with the virus who didn't know they were at risk. "Test and treat" requires long-term vigilance by doctors and patients, but early evidence suggests that it is reducing HIV in the city.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

• TIMELINE: The Fight Against HIV/AIDS

July 20, 2012 When other countries were struggling to deal with the HIV epidemic, Brazil openly acknowledged the problem and launched aggressive campaigns to raise awareness and treat the disease. But activists now say say there are no longer organized HIV prevention efforts.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

July 18, 2012 After Timothy Ray Brown became the first person to be cured of HIV, scientists became more optimistic that they could find other ways to cure patients. Two of the most promising possibilities include a vaccine and gene therapy that would re-engineer the immune system.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

July 17, 2012 Almost 90 percent of the target population – half in Port-au-Prince and the other half in a remote rural area – got fully protected against cholera. The results defy the forecasts of skeptics who said in advance of the campaign that it would be lucky to protect 60 percent of the target populations.

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July 12, 2012 The World Health Organization says an investigation found that the fast majority of illnesses and deaths were the result of a severe form of hand, foot and mouth disease. Why it was fatal to so many children isn't clear.

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July 12, 2012 Reuse of drug vials intended for only one patient led to outbreaks of staph infections at clinics in Arizona and Delaware. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged providers of health care to be more careful.

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July 9, 2012 Scientists have found enterovirus 71 in samples taken from children sickened in Cambodia. The virus can cause hand, foot and mouth disease. Symptoms of that illness are consistent with those reported in an outbreak that has been seen since April.

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July 2, 2012 A study of more than 45,000 women in Denmark finds an association between suicide attempts and infection with a common parasite. The findings don't prove the parasite is the cause, but they add more evidence to a hypothesis that's been gaining momentum.

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June 29, 2012 Tests that take hours instead of days can help doctors make a better diagnosis of infectious diseases. The results can help them decide which antibiotic to use, and which one to keep in reserve.

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June 27, 2012 An environmental group has issued its annual report on the nation's filthiest beaches, where a day in the water can mean skin rashes, stomach flu and respiratory problems. Who made the list?

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