Spread of AIDS/HIV

By cra0032

  • Start of HIV

    Scientists believe that HIV originated in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1920.

  • Spread to Haiti and Caribbean

    In the 1960’s HIV spread to Haiti and the Caribbean.

  • First cases in U.S

    5 cases of a rare lung infection called Pneumocystis pneumonia were found in previously healthy, young gay men in Los Angeles.

  • AIDS reported in Europe

    The New York Times published an article about the immune system disorder which had affected 335 people, killing 136 of them. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used the term AIDS to describe the disease for the first time. By the end of the year, AIDS cases were reported in a number of European countries.

  • Scientists identify how AIDS is transmitted

    The public considered AIDS a gay disease. In June, the first cases of AIDS in children suggested that it could be passed on through casual contact (food, water, air or surfaces) but it was concluded that they had acquired AIDS from their mothers before, during or after birth. The CDC identified the roots of transmission and ruled out casual contact. By the end of the year, the number of AIDS cases in the USA had risen to 3,064 and out of this number 1,292 had died.

  • Researchers identify the cause of AIDS

    Researchers finally identified the cause of AIDS, the HIV virus. By the end of 1984, there had been 7,699 AIDS cases and 3,665 AIDS deaths in the USA with 762 cases reported in Europe.

  • First commercial blood tests

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed the first commercial blood test for HIV. Today, numerous tests can detect HIV, the tests can be done on blood, saliva and urine.

  • First medication

    The first antiretroviral medication, azidothymidine (AZT), becomes available. Numerous medications are now available for HIV and they are typically used in antiretroviral therapy (ART)

  • Today

    Today there are 36.7 million people in the world living with HIV. Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 70 million people have been infected with HIV and 35 million have died from AIDS.