General History of HIV

HIV is the abbreviation for human immunodeficiency virus. It is a lentivirus that causes the disease of the human immune system known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Prelude

• Researchers theorize that the HIV virus transferred to humans in Africa--possibly even as early as the late 19th century--and slowly spread from there. HIV probably entered the United States around 1970.

The First Cases

• In 1981, physicians evaluated an occurrence of Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) and/or pneumonia in young gay men living in New York and Los Angeles. Curiously enough, KS usually occurred in older men. The Centers for Disease Control published a report of its findings that summer, initiating awareness of a new disease, AIDS.

Discovery

• The term "AIDS" was coined the following year, 1982. However, it was not until 1984 that scientists identified the virus that caused AIDS as HIV.

A New HIV Strand

• In 2009, a new strain of HIV--related to the gorilla version of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVgor)--was discovered in a woman from Cameroon who had admitted to having several sexual partners. This only added to the belief that HIV was initially transferred from apes to humans.

Impact

• The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes HIV infection in humans as pandemic, with sub-Saharan Africa being the worst-hit region. So far, the resulting AIDS disease has killed more than 25 million people, making it one of the most destructive diseases in history.