Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic and potentially fatal disease caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It affects the immune system, leaving the body vulnerable to other infections and diseases. AIDS was first identified in the early 1980s, but the virus that causes it, HIV, was discovered a few years earlier.
In 1981, a group of previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles and New York began to show symptoms of a rare form of pneumonia called Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). Doctors also reported seeing cases of a rare cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma, which usually only affects elderly men of Mediterranean or Jewish origin. These strange illnesses appeared to be affecting mostly gay men, leading to speculation that they were caused by something related to homosexuality. However, as more cases were reported, it became clear that the disease was not limited to gay men and was also affecting intravenous drug users, hemophiliacs, and people who had received blood transfusions.
It wasn’t until 1983 that the virus that causes AIDS was discovered. Two research teams, one led by Dr. Robert Gallo at the National Cancer Institute in the United States, and the other led by Dr. Luc Montagnier at the Pasteur Institute in France, independently identified a retrovirus that was causing immune system damage in people with AIDS. The virus was initially called HTLV-III/LAV (Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus Type III/Lymphadenopathy-Associated Virus) by Gallo’s team, and LAV by Montagnier’s team.
Both teams published their findings in the same issue of the journal Science in May 1983, but there was a dispute over who had discovered the virus first. The dispute was eventually settled in 1987, when a committee of the US Department of Health and Human Services ruled that Gallo’s team had been the first to isolate and culture the virus.
The discovery of HIV and its link to AIDS was a major breakthrough in medical science. It allowed doctors and researchers to develop new treatments and preventive measures, including antiretroviral therapy (ART) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). These treatments have been highly effective in reducing the spread of HIV and improving the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS. However, despite significant progress, there is still no cure for HIV/AIDS, and the disease remains a major global health crisis.
