Therefore, HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This virus can lead to Acquired Immune Deficiency syndrome also called Aids. HIV damages a person’s body by destroying the blood cells that are called CD4 and T cells, which are crucial to helping the body to fight off diseases. Scientist identified a type of chimpanzee in West Africa as the source of the HIV infection in humans. The scientist believe that the virus called simian probably was transmitted to humans and mutated into HIV when humans hunted the chimpanzees for meat and came into contact with their infected blood. In 1986, a second type of HIV was found and was named HIV-2 it was isolated from AIDS patients in West Africa. People that have HIV-2 Immunodeficiency seem to develop more slowly and to be milder, and those with HIV-2 are comparatively less infectious early in the course of the infection. This particular infection is found in West Africa. The first case of this infection was diagnosed in the United States in 1987.
Next, HIV is most commonly diagnosed by testing the blood or saliva for the presence of the antibodies to the virus. This type of test for the virus isn’t accurate immediately after being infected because it takes time for your body to develop these antibodies. Usually it can take up to 12 weeks in some cases; it can take six months for an HIV antibody test to become positive. A newer type of the test checks HIV antigen, a protein produced by