AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

The most recent presentation on the origin of HIV was presented at the 6th Conference on
Retroviruses and Opportunitistic Infections (Chicago, January 1999). At that conference, research
was presented that suggested that HIV had "crossed over" into the human population from a
particular species of chimpanzee, probably through blood contact that occurred during hunting and
field dressing of the animals. The CDC states that the findings presented at this conference
provide the strongest evidence to date that HIV-1 originated in non-human primates. The research
findings were featured in the February 4,1999 issue of the journal, Nature.

We know that the virus has existed in the United States, Haiti and Africa since at least 1977-1978.
In 1979, rare types of pneumonia, cancer and other illnesses were being reported by doctors in
Los Angeles and New York. The common thread was that these conditions were not usually found
in persons with healthy immune systems.

In 1982 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially named the condition AIDS
(Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). In 1984 the virus responsible for weakening the immune
system was identified as HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).

Of all the infectious diseases first recognized in the 20th century, AIDS has not only the most
profound effect on human illness and death, it ended the developed world’s complacency about
infectious diseases. Caused by HIV, AIDS is, as far as we know, always fatal, even with effective
therapy.
The other pandemic, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), is due to a newly
recognized microbe, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The world first became aware of
this new disease in the summer of 1981, and it has exploded in successive waves in various
regions of the world. Still, as we enter the 21st century, the catastrophic potential of the pandemic
may still not have been fully realized. As we prepare to enter the new millennium, it is appropriate
to reflect on the origins of this epidemic, what has occurred over the past 18 years, what has been
accomplished from a scientific and public health perspective, and what the prospects are for the
future.
Recent molecular epidemiologic data have clearly indicated that HIV type 1 (HIV-1) evolved with
the Pan troglodytes troglodytes subspecies of chimpanzee and was present in that subspecies for
centuries. The virus apparently does not readily cause disease in the chimpanzee. As is the case
with many viruses, HIV at a particular point (or points) in time “jumped” species to infect human
beings; hence, it almost certainly originated as a zoonotic infection.
AIDS is the end-stage disease of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The key to
understanding its pathogenesis lies in elucidating the course of infection and the virus-host relation
in the years preceding terminal illness.
AIDS was first recognized in the US. The US remains the country most heavily affected by the
HIV/AIDS pandemic in the industrialized world, and the US epidemic remains a paradigm of
HIV/AIDS in the developed world. Currently about three-quarters of newly reported cases of
infection with HIV-1 in the US are in men, most of them MSM and especially African American
MSM. However, there has also been a steady and disturbing increase in the number of women
infected with HIV-1 through heterosexual contact. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 has been
nearly eliminated in the US through routine prenatal screening linked to provision of antiretroviral
therapy to those pregnant women who are infected with HIV-1.In South and Southeast Asia,
HIV/AIDS has been concentrated in specific groups at risk, including injecting drug users, female
commercial sex workers and their clients, and MSM. In countries with a large population, such as
India and the People’s Republic of China, concentrated epidemics in specific groups, and low
overall prevalence, still convert into large numbers of people infected with HIV-1.