With World AIDS Day coming next Tuesday, a Bridgeport man is taking the time to impact those affected by the disease.

Michael Giannotti says he contracted HIV in the early '90s but went undiagnosed for several years. That's why working at Mid Fairfield AIDS Project, a nonprofit organization that provides services for people with AIDS and HIV, is more than just a job to him.

Giannotti says he took up to 16 pills a day when he was first diagnosed, but advances in medicine have Giannotti down to one pill a day and leading a healthier life.

Now, he shares his story to help people better understand how the disease has changed.

"It's now a manageable disease so people are living much longer with it," Giannotti says.

The Centers for Disease Control says the number of people living with HIV has increased over the past decade, but that's because people are living longer with the virus. The annual number of new cases has remained about the same over that period of time.