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Question: How did HIV/AIDS come about?
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Michael Kimwele answered on 8 Jul 2025:
HIV/AIDS originated from a type of virus found in animals and crossed over to humans through a process known as zoonosis. Here’s a brief overview of how it came about:
1. Origin of HIVHIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) comes from a group of viruses called SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) that infect monkeys and apes.
HIV-1, the most common and deadly form, likely came from chimpanzees in Central Africa. Scientists believe that people hunting and eating bushmeat came into contact with infected blood, allowing the virus to jump from animals to humans.
HIV-2, a less common and generally milder form, came from sooty mangabey monkeys, mainly in West Africa.
This crossover probably happened multiple times, but the strains that successfully adapted to humans led to the current HIV pandemic.
2. Early SpreadThe virus likely jumped to humans early in the 20th century (around 1920s) in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
From there, it spread along trade routes and through urban centers.
The first recognized cases of AIDS appeared in the early 1980s, mainly in the U.S., but retrospective analyses found earlier cases in Africa and elsewhere.
3. Why It Became a Global Epidemic
Several factors contributed:
Increased travel and migration
Unsafe medical practices (like reuse of needles)
Lack of early awareness and stigma
High rates of unprotected sex and low access to testing or treatment
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Jacinta Nzilani answered on 8 Jul 2025:
The Origins of HIV: The Monkey Mystery 🐒
HIV actually came from monkeys! Yep, long ago in Central Africa, humans were hunting monkeys and came into contact with their blood. This allowed a monkey virus (called SIV) to jump into humans and slowly evolve into HIV.
How It Spread 🌍
For years, the virus spread quietly, mostly in Africa, until the 1980s when it started spreading fast and making people sick. That’s when the world finally started noticing.HIV’s Early Days: The “AIDS” Panic 💥
In the ’80s, people had no clue what HIV was, and when it was linked to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), it caused a lot of fear. The virus attacks your body’s immune system, making it harder to fight other infections.
HIV in Kenya
In Kenya, HIV began spreading in the ’80s too, but over the years, with education, free testing, and ARVs, people learned how to live with it. Today, many people living with HIV can live long, healthy lives with treatment.
Fun Fact 🤔
Before it was called HIV, the virus was known as ”The Gay Plague” because it was mostly affecting gay men in the U.S. But soon, we learned it was affecting everyone ,no one is safe unless you protect yourself!
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Sally Odunga answered on 8 Jul 2025:
That is a great question. I have actually never researched how HIV/AIDS began, as it is not my area of expertise. What I do know are the causes and how it spreads which is what we were taught in primary and secondary school.
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