Scientists believe that the HIV virus spread from Green monkeys in Africa to humans sometime in the 1930s. The first believed death was in the Congo in Africa in 1959. During the 1980s the disease hit the gay community of the United States drawing international attention to what was officially named Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in 1982. By the end of 1982 HIV/AIDS was reported in 14 nations. In 1983, two strains of the disease of AIDS are identified in Europe; one is linked to Africa and the other to gay men who have visited the United States. By the end of 1983 AIDS is reported in 33 countries. In 1984, a team of scientists announce they have isolated the cause of HIV, which leads to the invention of a testing kit. In 1988, the first World AIDS Day is held on December 1st. By 1990, Sub-Saharan Africa begins to emerge as a heavily affected area. By 1992, the WHO estimates HIV infections worldwide to be more than 10 million. By 1997, estimates grow to 22 million. In 2000, 10 percent of the South African populations are HIV-positive In 2002, for the first time in the history of the AIDS pandemic, just as many women as men are infected with HIV. In 2004, a total of 42 million people around the world are living with HIV/AIDS. (sources Project Concern International/India www.pciindia.org, Health 24 www.health24.com, World Health Organization www.who.org.)

In India

The first case of HIV infection was diagnosed in Chennai in 1986. Today, it is estimated that approximately 10 million people in India are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Within the next year, some experts say India will have the highest number of infected people in the world, surpassing South Africa. For now, the epidemic is focused primarily on six states i.e, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashta and Karnataka in the south and Manipur and Nagaland in the northeast. Data collected from prenatal clinics show an infection rate higher than 1 percent, which is threshold at which the epidemic is considered to be generalized.

There is neither a cure nor vaccine for AIDS. There are antiretroviral drugs which can improve quality and length of life, but they are widely unavailable in India. Without an AIDS vaccine, the best hope we have in curbing the spread of the epidemic is awareness. People need to be educated about the virus so they can choose to not participate in behaviors through which it spreads. That task becomes a challenging one in India due to its many languages and conservative social mores and culture. No one wants to talk about sex in the classroom or any other setting. Education is the key to prevention.

Projections

• By 2010 official projections say that more than 130 million people in the world will have been infected or have died from the disease with 75 million of those coming from only five countries including Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, India, and China.
• By 2025 infections and deaths in three of the most populous nations of China, India, and Russia will climb to well over 400 million.
• By 2050 there will be a 5% decrease in population in India due to AIDS deaths.