Essay --

HIV: The Unveiling of the Virus Scientists believe HIV originated from a chimpanzee in Western Africa. The best approved theory about the source of HIV is that it is a descendant of a related virus, Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), which infects monkeys (Perlin, David, and Cohen, Ann, 2002, 79-92). People may have come in contact with HIV from hunting and eating infected animals (Perlin, David, and Cohen, Ann, 2002, 79-92). The earliest known case of infection with HIV in a human was identified in a blood sample collected in 1959 from a man in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Genetic analysis of this blood sample suggested that HIV-1 may have expanded from a single virus in the late 1940s to early 1950s (â€Å"The AIDS Institute.org,† 2011). Background Information In 1982, public health officials began to use the name acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS, to describe the occurrences of opportunistic infections, Kaposi's sarcoma, and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in previously healthy people. Formal tracking of AIDS cases also began in the United States In 1982. In 1983, scientists discovered the virus that caused AIDS. The virus was first named HTLV-III/LAV (human T-cell lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy associated virus) by an international scientific committee. The name for HIV was later changed to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (â€Å"The AIDS Institute.org,† 2011). There are two species of the virus, HIV-1 and HIV-2. The first developed from a Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) found in chimpanzees, whereas the second came from an SIV in a type of monkey called the sooty mangabey. HIV-1, which is responsible for the majority of AIDS cases worldwide, is divided into three groups—the main group M, the much rarer gro... ...M), predominantly black men, are most seriously affected by HIV. 1,144,500 people over the age of 13 are living with HIV, including 15.8 percent who are unaware. Over the past decade, the number of HIV has risen, while the annual rate of new infections has remained consistent (â€Å"AIDS.gov,† 2012). HIV disease prevails as a serious health issue for parts of the world. Worldwide, there were about 2.5 million new cases of HIV in 2011. Around 34.2 million people are living with HIV around the world. In 2010, there were about 1.8 million deaths in people with AIDS. Nearly 30 million people with AIDS have died worldwide since the epidemic began. Although Sub-Saharan Africa bears the biggest burden of HIV/AIDS, countries such as South and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and parts of Latin America are significantly affected by HIV and AIDS (â€Å"CDC.gov,† 2013).