n June 5, 1981, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the first report alerting the medical community to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS — acquired immune deficiency syndrome — a disease that fatally attacks the immune system. Since then, AIDS has since become a major global epidemic.
What distinguishes HIV from most other viruses is that antibodies produced by the immune system cannot kill HIV. Once a person is infected, HIV remains in the blood forever. After a silent but intense battle that can last 10 years or more, the virus weakens the immune system to the point that it can no longer protect the body from infections. These opportunistic infections, such as pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) and cytomegalovirus (CMV), are the late-stage conditions that define AIDS. In addition, patients with HIV face an increased risk of contracting certain cancers and neurological disorders.
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