AIDS: A Global Perspective

Abstract
The origins of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) remain uncertain, but the available evidence indicates that the current HIV-1 pandemic started, silent and unnoticed, during the mid to late 1970s.1 The recognition of AIDS in 1981, discovery of HIV-1 in 1983, and wide availability of diagnostic assays for antibodies to HIV-1 since 1985 have led gradually to a clearer picture of the worldwide extent and distribution of HIV-1 infection.2 An international surveillance of HIV infection and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is maintained by the Global Programme on AIDS of the World Health Organization (WHO). As of July 1, . . .