In the fall of 1980, a 33-year-old immunologist named Michael Gottlieb began hearing about young homosexual men in the Los Angeles area who, inexplicably, were extremely ill. The men had a rare form of pneumonia – caused by the fungus Pneumocystis carinii (now called P. jirovecii) – which only strikes patients with severely weakened immune systems. The five men whose cases Gottlieb tracked did not know each other, and all but one had been in robust health until their physical conditions suddenly declined.
When the world was slow to grasp the epidemic’s magnitude, Michael Gottlieb also became a leading AIDS activist. Courtesy of Rutgers University
In the fall of 1980, a 33-year-old immunologist named Michael Gottlieb began hearing about young homosexual men in the Los Angeles area who, inexplicably, were extremely ill. The men had a rare form of pneumonia – caused by the fungus Pneumocystis carinii (now called P. jirovecii) – which only strikes patients with severely weakened immune systems. The five men whose cases Gottlieb tracked did not know each other, and all but one had been in robust health until their physical conditions suddenly declined.
Gottlieb, who graduated from Rutgers in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biological sciences, was then teaching at UCLA. He led a team that wrote up the troubling findings and submitted them to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), which – on June 5, 1981 – published them in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a newsletter for health professionals.
To read its dense language now, laden with technical terms such as dyspnea, leukopenia and esophageal candidiasis, and devoid of a single adjective that would suggest alarm, one might not readily appreciate how historic Gottlieb’s work was. The article with the innocuous-looking title “Pneumocystis Pneumonia – Los Angeles” was the world’s first documentation of AIDS.
Six months later, Gottlieb followed up with an article in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting that a virus might be at the root of the mysterious disease. It would take two years, but virologists who identified what we now know as HIV proved him right.
“With my first report the AIDS epidemic was off and running,” Gottlieb recalls, and his role in its discovery would change his life. “My career took a 90-degree turn. On track for a research career in immunology, I became involved in advocacy and working with communities affected by AIDS.”
Just as he had educated the medical community with his early findings, Gottlieb would become a central figure in the event that – more than any other – awakened the public to the impact of AIDS.
In the mid-1980s nobody in Hollywood had a more virile heterosexual image than the actor Rock Hudson. In 1985, a physically ravaged Hudson stepped before cameras to announce that he had AIDS and was dying. Michael Gottlieb was Hudson’s physician. With the attention of the world suddenly focused on him, Gottlieb says, “it was hard to stay put in the ivory tower.”
Gottlieb collaborated with Hudson’s close friend Elizabeth Taylor and other prominent figures to found AmFAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, and became its co-chair. Gottlieb was one of many who felt the Reagan Administration was slow to put the weight of the federal government behind efforts to curb the epidemic, and that patients dying from the disease had been abandoned, so he became a vocal advocate in the political arena. Over time, the government and other important players would begin to listen and act.
During the past three decades, thanks to the efforts of Gottlieb and countless others, HIV/AIDS has gone from being an automatic death sentence to a largely chronic disease. People with access to the right medications commonly live long lives.
Gottlieb, now 67, has not stopped. He still treats patients at his Los Angeles medical practice, teaches at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and works with AIDS advocacy groups – with a frequent focus on Africa, where millions who do not receive proper care are still dying.
He credits his Rutgers experience for much of the revolutionary work he has done. “I took more humanities courses than science, which helped me avoid being a one-dimensional doctor,” he says. “Once AIDS hit I could not possibly stay out of the social and political dimensions of the epidemic. Rutgers has a whole lot to do with who I am.”
Source: Rutgers University
Stay prepared and protected with Infection Control Today's newsletter, delivering essential updates, best practices, and expert insights for infection preventionists.
Reducing Hidden Risks: Why Sharps Injuries Still Go Unreported
July 18th 2025Despite being a well-known occupational hazard, sharps injuries continue to occur in health care facilities and are often underreported, underestimated, and inadequately addressed. A recent interview with sharps safety advocate Amanda Heitman, BSN, RN, CNOR, a perioperative educational consultant, reveals why change is overdue and what new tools and guidance can help.
New Study Explores Oral Vancomycin to Prevent C difficile Recurrence, But Questions Remain
July 17th 2025A new clinical trial explores the use of low-dose oral vancomycin to prevent Clostridioides difficile recurrence in high-risk patients taking antibiotics. While the data suggest a possible benefit, the findings stop short of statistical significance and raise red flags about vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), underscoring the delicate balance between prevention and antimicrobial stewardship.
What Lies Beneath: Why Borescopes Are Essential for Verifying Surgical Instrument Cleanliness
July 16th 2025Despite their smooth, polished exteriors, surgical instruments often harbor dangerous contaminants deep inside their lumens. At the HSPA25 and APIC25 conferences, Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and her colleagues revealed why borescopes are an indispensable tool for sterile processing teams, offering the only reliable way to verify internal cleanliness and improve sterile processing effectiveness to prevent patient harm.
The Next Frontier in Infection Control: AI-Driven Operating Rooms
Published: July 15th 2025 | Updated: July 15th 2025Discover how AI-powered sensors, smart surveillance, and advanced analytics are revolutionizing infection prevention in the OR. Herman DeBoard, PhD, discusses how these technologies safeguard sterile fields, reduce SSIs, and help hospitals balance operational efficiency with patient safety.
Targeting Uncertainty: Why Pregnancy May Be the Best Time to Build Vaccine Confidence
July 15th 2025New national survey data reveal high uncertainty among pregnant individuals—especially first-time parents—about vaccinating their future children, underscoring the value of proactive engagement to strengthen infection prevention.