One Life

Understanding HIV

A brief synopsis of HIV and the growing numbers of infections around the world.

• In 1981, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) receive reports of unusually high rates of the rare diseases Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and Kaposi’s sarcoma in young gay men.
• The disease is initially called Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (GRID) because it is thought it only affects gay men.
• In 1982, the disease is renamed Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
• It is realized that the infection can be sexually transmitted.
• In 1983, it is discovered that women can become infected with AIDS through heterosexual sex.
• In 1987, the first treatment was introduced in the U.S., and began to change the outlook for people living with HIV and/or AIDS.
• In 2007 in Canada
  • Men who have sex with men was still the largest group to be diagnosed with HIV infection, their total numbers have decreased over the years.
  • About ¼ of new adult HIV diagnosis were among women – most were infected through heterosexual contact. In fact, HIV infection through heterosexual contact among both men and women has increased steadily since the beginning of the epidemic.
• In 2007, approximately 2 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in North America and Western and Central Europe, 78,000 of whom were newly infected with HIV in the past year. Approximately 32,000 died of AIDS-related causes in 2007.