US History Trivia: When the AIDS epidemic first hit the United States, what was its original acronym?

AIDS is one of the most frightening diseases in the world.  With no cure and the virtual guarantee of an early death, being told that one has HIV or AIDS is one of the most frightening things that a person can hear.  The disease was first recognized by the Center for Disease Control in 1981 - however, at first, it was not called AIDS.  So, off of Pocket Trivia: US History - When the AIDS epidemic first hit the United States, what was its original acronym?  Was it GIVE, GIDP, GRID or HIPA?


The answer is GRID, but it is the story behind the answer that is particularly interesting, and sad.

As mentioned earlier, AIDS was first recognized in 1981 when five homosexual men in Los Angeles developed symptoms of the disease.  At first, the disease only appeared to be in homosexual men who were sexually promiscuous - as a result, the disease was named GRID, which stood for Gay-related immune deficiency.  However, researchers proposed a name change to AIDS in 1982, when it became apparent that the disease was spreading to others who were not gay (drug users and hemophiliacs who had blood transfusions were also particularly at risk.