is tomorrow. It is almost 30 years since the first published document about AIDS appeared in MMWR in 1981, a short little article about 5 gay men with strange problems afflicting their immune system. Of course, it was not the first time this strange syndrome had appeared, but the first time it appeared in the scientific literature. Thus, June 1981 has been marked as the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.

But as we get ready to mark World AIDS day, some experts are saying that the epidemic is overblown

Interesting article and some points to consider. The different viewpoints are all valid, but it all adds up to the same thing--money. How should we best be using scarce resources?

One good use of money would be to increase salaries of nurses and physicians in developing nations so that these people have some incentive to stay and work in their homelands. While brain drain is talked about, nothing seems to be done about it.