Healthyvives Health Blog

Chronologically speaking, the origin of HIV may be traced from the 1950′s. At the end of World War 11, only a handful of viruses were f known. Hundreds more have been discovered since, partly as a result of advanced techniques for culturing them in the laboratory. Viruses are parasites which infect almost every form of life, from single-called bacteria up to humans. The roughly simultaneous appearance of AIDS in the United States, Europe, Africa and Haiti prompted the question. Had AIDS been around for some time, unnoticed? After combing through medical histories of past patients, investigators found a small number of probable cases of AIDS going back over thirty years over three continents. Working back in time, they found AIDS-like symptoms in patients as early as 1959.
The first case of HIV in USA was reported in 1981: In 1979 a forty-four ‘ year old homosexual man died with Kaposi’s sarcoma in New York City. Kaposi’s sarcoma is a kind of cancer found very common among AIDS patients in the West. In 1977, a twenty seven year old Rwandan mother developed the immuno deficiency symptoms and died. In the same year a thirty four year old Zaiean woman, who sought treatment in Belgium later died of opportunistic infection in Kanishasa in 1978. In 1975 a previously healthy seven-month-old black infant from New York had pneumocystis and succumbed. In 1969 a fifteen year old black US boy’ with Kaposi’s sarcoma and opportunistic infection died in St. Lousis. Earlier in 1959 a British sailor with Kaposi’s sarcoma and pneumocystis died in Manchester.