ound in humans. It is transmitted through blood, semen, and vaginal secretions.H.I.V. is a retrovirus of the Lentivirus group and is the etiologic agent of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). AIDS was first recognized as a disease syndrome in 1981; H.I.V. was identified as its cause in 1984. Coincidentally, Lymphadenopathy-Associated Virus (LAV) isolated by French researcher Dr. Montgnier, (HILV-III) isolated by Dr. Gallo and AIDS Related Retrovirus (ARV) isolated by Dr. Levy in the U.S. were all found to be identical - and to be associated with AIDS. The virus is now known universally as HIV. HIV antibodies were found in serum drawn in parts of Africa in the early 1970, leading many investigators to believe that the disease originated in Africa, spreading to the Caribbean, and then to the United States. Two strains of HIV subsequently have been identified: HIV-1, which is predominantly isolated in clinical AIDS and found in central Africa and other regions in the world, and HIV-2, which is generally limited to western and Central Africa and has not demonstrated the virulence of HIV-1. A likely origin of HIV strongly suggests foul play. AIDS first appeared in Equatorial Africa; the earliest evidence of its presence on the African Continent dates from a plasma sample drawn in 1959 in Kinshasa, Zaire (at that time, it was known as Leopoldville, the Belgian Congo). A process called genetic sequencing, which tracks the evolution of a virus by measuring genetic changes, can read the molecular history of a disease, verifies the appearance as accurate. And according to Gerald Myers, the Federal Government chief expert in genetic sequencing, HIV dates from about 1960, assuming it arose from a single common ancestor. Knowing the approximate time the HIV virus appeared in humans, a closer look at what was occurring in Medical History between 1932 - 1960 is necessary. Between 1932 and 1950, Dr. Koprowski, Dr. Jonas Salk and Dr. Albert Sabi...
