Who Was The First Person With Aids ?
AIDS is undoubtedly the most fatal disease that has ever struck mankind. Medical science has discovered the answer to almost every medical condition, but the cure for AIDS still remains a big question mark. This scourge has engulfed many lives till now, and the nightmare continues. |
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The first death attributed to AIDS took place in 1959 in Leopoldville in Belgian Congo. The blood sample of the deceased was confirmed to be infected with HIV. It is also believed that the causal virus, HIV or human immunodeficiency virus, originated from a virus called SIV, or simian immunodeficiency virus, present in chimpanzees. The mode of transmission of this virus to the human race is still not known with clarity. Scientific hypothesis states that the transmission may have occurred accidentally or through an animal bite in the 1950s.
Research highlights that from Africa; the pandemic moved to Haiti, and then came into the United States. On June 5, 1981 the disease was first reported in the United States in five homosexual men in Los Angeles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in their blood samples. No actual disease could be traced in any of these men. However, they fell ill frequently complaining of problems related to the body immunity. After a few months, some of the members of the group died as a result of weakened immune system. Their blood samples revealed damaged T cells or CD4 cells that were known to assist the body in combating infections.
Even after the disease was recognized, it took some more time for the name to be designated as AIDS. The medical condition was initially referred to as GRID which denoted ‘gay related immune deficiency’. CDC called it the 4H disease since the patients were primarily Haitians, homosexuals, hemophiliacs and heroin users. However, very soon it was discovered that the disease was not restricted to the gay community alone. Thereafter, the term AIDS was coined in July 1982 and by the month of September that year, the name was officially used by CDC, and the aspects of the disease were brought to light.
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Who Was The First Person With Aids ?
