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When Is The First Time That Humans Got HIV Infection?

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    The term "HIV", or Human Immunodeficiency Virus, was first used in 1986. AIDS, however, was first discovered by Western scientists in 1981 after they noticed the illness in five American men. AIDS, however, originated in sub-Saharan Africa and as such, the first humans to carry the virus were Africans who had been bitten by chimpanzees, as these animals are believed to have first carried the disease.

    It is now believed that AIDS first appeared in humans in Cameroon, especially around the Sanaga River area. It is impossible to tell when the first human was infected, but it probably occurred as early as 1919, or as late as 1960. Either way, one can see that AIDS has been around for quite a long time, even if in the West we only found out about it in 1981. Although this is far from certain, it is possible that the first people effected by AIDS were African labourers during the period of European colonialism, who had weakened immune systems due to harsh conditions and strenuous work, and were unable to withstand AIDS when infected by chimpanzees.
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    Mackenzie 

    answered 3 years ago

    If this case why is it that there is rapid continual mutation of the AIDS/HIV virus in Africa. It mutation rate is indicative that it is relatively new in the region. Why is it that such a high level of variability does not exist in the United States? Could it be that its origin was in the United States? How then is it that a gay white male from San Francisco was the first person diagnosed with the virus? Was he bitten by a chimpanzee in San Francisco?
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    Waga

    Waga

    commented 1 year ago

      The research in this has been biased and is designed o put the blame of origin in the land of the "other" races. Considering the fact that in the cold war era, USA was developing a virus that would cause immune systems to stop working , it seems more probable that the disease was a result of messing with nature.
      Similar biased research can also be found in case of plague, polio and leprosy.
      According to western scholars(?) plague was brought to europe by mongols- very acceptable for europeans considering that mongols and huns had ravaged europe, its very easy to see how these theories gained widespread acceptance in europe.
      Leprosy was unheard of in east till the europeans landed here.
      Same is the case of the Incas and Aztecs who did not have immunity from the diseases brought by Europeans.
      Its all about racially biased research guys.
      1 0
      Guest

      Guest 

      answered 7 months ago

        Nobody knows. people can tell you what other people think , but no one actually knows .
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        Xmark2112 

        answered 3 years ago

        I believe this disease was created by the US government during the world-war era, taken to Africa and injected into chimps to see it's effects, and whomever this "gay white male was" (probably a wildlife researcher) was accidentally bitten by one of the wild injected chimps.. thus unknowingly bringing the disease back to the US. My question to Xmark2112 is.. If they found this disease in him way back in 1981, why wasn't he quarantined then and there? Instead of being released into society and spread the virus?

        -Brian in Ca-
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        Cali-brian

        Cali-brian

        commented 1 year ago

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