Where did aids start?

The exact origin of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, remains uncertain. However, based on scientific research, it is believed that HIV originated in non-human primates in west-central Africa and was later transmitted to humans. The most widely accepted hypothesis suggests that HIV crossed species from chimpanzees to humans through hunting or butchering practices involving blood contact with infected chimpanzee tissue or blood.

One of the earliest recorded cases of HIV infection in a human was discovered in a blood sample collected in 1959 from a man living in what was then the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). This sample, known as the "Patient Zero" sample, is believed to be one of the earliest known instances of HIV infection in humans.

Over time, HIV spread from its origins in Africa to different parts of the world through various factors such as human migration, sexual contact, and the sharing of contaminated needles and syringes among drug users. It wasn't until the late 1970s and early 1980s that the first cases of AIDS were reported and identified in the United States and other countries, leading to the recognition of the global AIDS pandemic.

It is important to note that the exact origin and initial transmission of HIV remain a subject of ongoing research, and while the hypothesis of cross-species transmission from chimpanzees is widely accepted, further studies continue to shed light on the evolutionary history and origins of HIV.