Although HIV was first identified in 1983, studies of previously stored blood samples indicate that the virus entered the U.S. population sometime in the late 1970s. Worldwide, an estimated 27.9 million people had become HIV-infected through mid-1996, and 7.7 million had developed AIDS, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
AIDS is a disease of the immune system, and is caused by Human Immuno deficiency Virus (HIV). HIV targets and infects T-helper cells and macrophages. After infection, replication of the virus occurs within the T-helper cells. The cells are lysed and the new viruses are released to infect more T-helper cells. The course of the disease results in the production of massive numbers of virus (1 billion/day) over the full course of the disease. The T- helper cells are infected, and rapidly destroyed both by virus and by cytotoxic T cells. T-helper cells are replaced with nearly a billion produced per day. Over many years (average may be 10), the......
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