ORIGIN OF HIV AIDS
ORIGIN OF HIV & AIDS Sunset on the Congo River HIV first began to spread along the historic trade routes of the Congo basin in the 1920s. KEY POINTS: HIV crossed from chimps to humans in the 1920s in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. This was probably as a result of chimps carrying the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), a virus closely related to HIV, being hunted and eaten by people living in the area. The origin of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been a subject of scientific research and debate since the virus was identified in the 1980s. There is now a wealth of evidence on how, when and where HIV first began to cause illness in humans. You can find out more about the origins and history of HIV through our interactive timeline, where you can read, watch, listen and explore key events from the history of the epidemic. The link between HIV and SIV HIV is a type of lentivirus, which means it attacks the immune system. In a similar way, the Simian Immunode