hiv was first identified in the united states in 1959.
hiv was first identified in the united states in 1959.
when was hiv first identified in the united states?
1959
the earliest well-documented case of hiv in a human dates back to 1959 in the congo. the earliest retrospectively described case of aids is believed to have been in norway beginning in 1966. in july 1960, in the wake of congo's independence, the united nations recruited francophone experts and technicians from all over the world to assist in filling administrative gaps left by belgium, who did not leave behind an african elite to run the country. by 1962, haitians made up the second largest group of well-educated experts (out of the 48 national groups recruited), that totaled around 4500 in the country. dr. jacques pépin, a quebecer author of "the origins of aids", stipulates that haiti was one of hiv's entry points to the united states and that one of them may have carried hiv back across the atlantic in the 1960s. although the virus may have been present in the united states as early as 1966, the vast majority of infections occurring outside sub-saharan africa (including the u.s.) can be traced back to a single unknown individual who became infected with hiv in haiti and then brought the infection to the united states some time around 1969. the epidemic then rapidly spread among high-risk groups (initially, sexually promiscuous men who have sex with men). by 1978, the prevalence of hiv-1 among homosexual male residents of new york city and san francisco was estimated at 5%, suggesting that several thousand individuals in the country had been infected.
hiv/aids
the distribution of aids cases, whether in the united states or elsewhere in the world, invariably mirrors the prevalence of hiv in a population. in the united states, hiv first appeared in populations of injection-drug users (a majority of whom are male) and gay men. hiv is spread primarily through unprotected sex, the exchange of hiv-contaminated needles, or cross-contamination of the drug solution and infected blood during intravenous drug use. because these behaviors show a gender skew—western men are more likely to take illegal drugs intravenously than western women, and men are more likely to report higher levels of the riskiest sexual behaviors, such as unprotected anal intercourse—it is not surprising that a majority of u.s. aids cases have occurred in men.
misconceptions about hiv/aids