HIV INFECTION

Since its first appearance more than 40 years ago, the HIV virus continues to be a challenge for the global community.

In the summer of 1981, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was first recognized in the US, as young homosexual men were dying from various opportunistic infections that their immune system should have been able to eliminate.

The same disease was also diagnosed in Europe in 1982. As it primarily affected homosexual men, it was initially considered a disease resulting from lifestyle choices, which is why the first name given to the disease was GRID (Gay Related Immuno-Deficiency).

Later, epidemiological data showed that it was an infectious disease transmitted through blood, semen, and from mother to neonate during childbirth and breastfeeding, changing the prevailing view.

The isolation of the virus occurred in 1984, and the definitive name was given in 1986 by the ICTV (International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses).

The virus’s target cells are the CD4+ T lymphocytes of the immune system, which are a type of white blood cell that protects the body from various types of infections caused by viruses, bacteria, or fungi.

The virus binds to specific receptors on the surface of the CD4+ cell and enters its interior, where its RNA undergoes reverse transcription, integration into the cell’s genome, multiplication, and finally, the assembly of new viral particles that exit the cell, infecting new ones. It is estimated that during the acute phase of HIV infection, one infected CD4+ cell can produce around10,000 new viral particles increasing the rate of new cell infection to the maximum.

The identification of the HIV virus enabled the development of the first blood screening test, providing blood banks with an important tool for transfusion safety, when until that moment, homosexuality alone was a reason for rejecting a potential blood donor.

In 1987, the drug AZT was introduced as the first treatment against HIV, followed by DDI two years later, while in 1996, HAART (Highly Active Antiretrovirus Therapy) was introduced for the first time. Although complex and difficult to adhere to, HAART had impressive results, managing to transform AIDS from a lethal and terrifying disease into a chronic and manageable infection. Today, half a century later, the development of new-generation drugs has significantly helped both in combating and limiting the spread of the virus and in providing a better quality of life for people living with HIV.