Human Immunodeficiency Virus ( Hiv ) - 1359 Words

This paper explores the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as well as the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). The virus has infected two million adults and children by the year 2005 already. The virus continues to race around the world, and new HIV infections are at 50,000 per year (Martine Peeters, Matthieu Jung, Ahidjo Ayouba) (2013). The final outcome of the HIV infection is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). There are many treatments that have developed to help the large number of people infected (Demmer, 2002). HIV greatly spread throughout Africa while originating with African chimpanzees. There are many different theories as to what started the HIV outbreaks, but all theories come to the same conclusion that there†¦show more content†¦Origins of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus The human immunodeficiency virus infecting humans originated as a natural infection from chimpanzees. HIV sporadically infected rural people that lived in isolated areas amongst the Congo. David M. Hills (2000) states in â€Å"Origins of HIV† that the virus had deadly outcomes. It quickly adapted to human beings. This became a human disease transmitted through blood and sexual contact. Tracing HIV to its roots, physicians recognized this virus as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and Kaposi’s sarcoma found in young homosexual men (Peeters et al., 2013). These observations are the beginning of an alertness of the HIV epidemic in the United States. The final outcome of the HIV infection is the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (Dennis H Osmond; Susan Buchbinder; Amber Cheng; Allison Graves) (2002). There are two subtypes of the virus, HIV-1 and HIV-2. They both originate from the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) which was found in Africa. The source of the HIV-1 virus was in chimpanzees coming from central Africa. The source of HIV-2 virus was from west Africa derived from Soot Mangabey Monkeys (Rambout et al., 2001). HIV belongs to a family of viruses known as lentiviruses. Paul M. Sharp and Beatrice H. Hahn (2011) explain in their article that lentiviruses are viruses that slowly act over a long period of