Condition

HIV/AIDS

Also Known As Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

Infectious and Parasitic Diseases

A chronic, potentially life-threatening infection caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which attacks CD4 immune cells and, left untreated, progressively weakens the immune system until the body can no longer fight ordinary infections, a late stage called acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report first described the underlying condition on June 5, 1981, in a cluster of Pneumocystis pneumonia cases among previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles. In the disease's first year, before its cause was known, it was sometimes labeled gay-related immune deficiency (GRID), a name replaced in 1982 once cases were recognized in other groups entirely; the early association fed discrimination against gay men that the historical record documents factually rather than as a footnote to be smoothed over. The virus itself was isolated in 1983 and 1984, a discovery this atlas carries separately as its own contested episode. Antiretroviral therapy, developed from the late 1980s onward, has transformed HIV from a near-uniformly fatal diagnosis into a manageable chronic condition for patients with reliable access to treatment; access remains globally uneven.

Facts

Condition Class

infectious, viral, chronic 4

Causative Agent

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus 4

First Described

1959 5

Marks the CDC's June 5, 1981 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report describing Pneumocystis pneumonia in five previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles, the first published clinical recognition of what became known as AIDS, not the causative virus's isolation, which followed in 1983 to 1984 (see Isolation of HIV, a separate discovery entity carrying that contested episode in full).

Prevalence

An estimated 39.9 million people were living with HIV worldwide at the end of 2023, according to World Health Organization data. 6

Classification

Body System

Lymphatic or Immune System 1

ICD-10 Chapter

I: Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases 2

Communicable or Non-communicable

Communicable 2

Transmission Route

Sexual 3

Transmission Route

Bloodborne 3

Transmission Route

Vertical (Mother-to-Child) 3

Causative Agent

Causative Agent (category)

Viral 4

HIV/AIDS

2 entries

Treatment Category

Type/Classification

Status

Colloidal Silver

HIV/AIDS

Faith Healing

HIV/AIDS

FAQs

Why was AIDS first called GRID?

It was named for the first recognized cases; replaced in 1982.

In the first year of the epidemic, before the cause was known, the condition was sometimes labeled gay-related immune deficiency (GRID), after the early cases described on June 5, 1981 among previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles. The name was replaced in 1982 once cases were recognized in other groups. The historical record documents the early association, and the discrimination it fed against gay men, factually.

Is HIV still a fatal diagnosis?

Manageable with treatment access; access is uneven.

Antiretroviral therapy, developed from the late 1980s onward, has transformed HIV from a near-uniformly fatal diagnosis into a manageable chronic condition for patients with reliable access to treatment. Access remains globally uneven. The World Health Organization estimated 39.9 million people were living with HIV worldwide at the end of 2023.

Connections

Associated With

Epidemiology

Infectious Disease

Isolation of HIV

Source The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of HumanityRoy Porter

Long-Form Articles

How a List of Symptoms Became the Name AIDS

Treated By

Antiretroviral Therapy

Source The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of HumanityRoy Porter

Antiviral Therapy

Colloidal Silver

Source Medical uses of silver (Wikipedia)

Faith Healing

Source Faith healing (Wikipedia)

HIV Vaccine

Source HIV vaccine development (Wikipedia)

Infectious Disease

Needle and Syringe Programmes

Source Needle and syringe programmes (Wikipedia)

Post-Exposure Prophylaxis

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV Prevention

Source Pre-exposure prophylaxis (Wikipedia)

Virology

In the Other Atlases