In the movie "And the Band Played On" a new epidemic was identified in the United States. In 1981the Center for Disease Control (CDC) initially became aware that a new disease was spreading when medical facilities in Los Angeles, California began treating patients with what appeared to be primary Pneumocystis Carnii pneumonia; a disease seen secondarily, and only in immunocompromised individuals. Upon receiving this report, the CDC placed calls to facilities in New York and San Francisco discovering similar cases in these areas. These patients exhibited other opportunistic diseases such as Kopsii's sarcoma, toxoplasmosis, leukemia and hepatitis B and other diseases not normally identified in humans.
In 1981 the CDC identified cases of this new disease in 3 states. Within 7 months the incidence of the disease rose with cases identified in 17 states and by 1982, 33 states were reporting cases. The prevalence of the disease, which had a 100% mortality rate, was continuing to increase also. Initially identified only in homosexual males and spreading to the newborn, transfusion dependant, IV drug use, Haitian and heterosexual populations within 1-2 years. .
In order to identify the modes of transmission for this disease, the CDC needed to gather and analyze data. They conducted retrospective studies of homosexual men known to have the disease, and developed questionnaires related to sexual practices and lifestyle choices. The CDC also performed rectal and buccal smears on all participants in the study. This information was then analyzed to identify factors that were common to those infected. Since sexual transmission was suspected as the means for spreading the disease, these men were also asked to identify anyone with whom they had had sexual contact. By cross-referencing this data the CDC was able to identify "patient zero", graph direct and indirect contacts, and map the spread of the disease amongst men known to be infected.