Turning Points in History: The Aids Virus

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Recommended: The origin, causes and effects of Aids

The AIDS virus was a major turning point in world history. Contrary to popular belief, if a person gives blood to or recieves blood from a hospital or blood bank that person will not risk transmitting HIV, a.k.a. human immunodeficiency virus and that person does not risk transmitting AIDS, a.k.a. acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. In addition, “It is now generally accepted that HIV is a descendent of a Simian Immunodeficiency Virus because certain strains of SIVs bear a very close resemblance to HIV-1 and HIV-2, the two types of HIV” (AIDS Doctors).
On June 5, [1981] the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [published] a…. report describing cases of a rare lung infection … in five young, previously healthy, gay men in Los Angeles. All the men [had] other unusual infections as well, indicating that their immune systems [were] not working; two [had] already died by the time [that this] report [was] published. This… marks the first official reporting of what [would] become known as the AIDS epidemic. (“Timeline of AIDS”)
In 1969, “a fifteen-year-old-boy … in Saint Louis, Missouri … [was] the first known North American know to have died of AIDS” (Kallen 56). The AIDS epidemic is a turning point in world history because it had a big impact on scientific advances made during the turmoil, which helped people to know that this disease was affecting many people all over the world, and not just some people in some small areas.
AIDS has evolved over time. There are a few theories as to how AIDS evolved from HIV, and how HIV evolved from SIV. One theory on how HIV came into existence is the Hunter Theory. This theory is most commonly accepted and it is the belief that “SIVcpv was transferred to humans ...

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Cefrey, Holly. Epidemics: Deadly Diseases throughout History: AIDS. New York: Rosen Group, 2001. Print. Epidemics: Deadly Diseases Throughout History.
Cichocki, Mark, Rn. Living with HIV: A Patient's Guide. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 2009. Print.
Fake AIDS Cures. AVERT, 2013. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. .
Kallen, Stuart A. The Race to Discover the AIDS Virus: Luc Montagnier vs. Robert Gallo. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century, 2013. Print.
Origin of HIV & AIDS. AVERT, 2013. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. .
Szabo, Liz. "Doctors Report First Cure of HIV in a Child." Doctors Report First Cure of HIV in a Child. USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .

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