A Brief History Of Aids

It has been estimated that this disease has been around for longer than 30 years but fewer than 100 years.

It is speculated that the disease originated in Central Africa and spread from the Green or Simian monkey to humans, probably through a hunting accident.

Once in the human body, the virus mutated and became the HIV that we recognize today. The virus is continuing to mutate – making an increasing number of varieties and sub-strains.

Click here to view an explanation about what Aids 101 is.

1980's

A drug technician at the Centre of Disease Control (CDC) in the US noticed the high number of requests for the drug used to treat Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia (PCP). This led to a scientific report of PCP occurring unusually in five Los Angeles gay men. All were severely immune deficient.

In 1982, the disease had been reported in 14 nations worldwide, by end eighties more than a million people were infected.

The syndrome was called Grid (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) but renamed because it clearly did not just affect gay men. It was re-named Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. in 1984 the Human Immunodeficiency Virus was isolated at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

In 1988, the WHO’s Global Programme on AIDS instituted World AIDS Day as an annual event on December 1 each year.

1990’s

The red ribbon was launched as an international symbol of AIDS awareness in the nineties. By now, AIDS had been found in every single country in the world.

By 1994, AIDS became the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 25 and 44. By 1999, the World Health Report reported that AIDS had become the fourth biggest killer worldwide. By then, 33 million people were living with HIV/AIDS.

2000

AIDS deaths totalled 3 million in the year 2000. Of these, 2.4 million deaths occurred in Africa.

2010 onwards

By 2012 there were already estimated that 6.1 million people were infected with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. It was reported that the total number of infected South Africans in 2014 stood at 6.4-million; 1.2-million more than in 2008.

South Africa has the biggest and most high-profile HIV epidemic in the world, with an estimated 7.7 million people living with HIV in 2018.