HIV Discovery And Treatment – The Most Significant Event In Biomedical Science From The Last 50 Years
The discovery and treatment for HIV has significantly developed overtime from when it was first discovered and diagnosed. HIV standing for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a lentivirus. This type of virus is one which has a long incubation time and causes other diseases. In this case HIV can lead to the development of AIDS.
The source of HIV was identified by scientists as a type of chimpanzee in west Africa. The chimpanzee version (SIV) was believed to have mutated into HIV when humans came into contact with infected blood during the handling/hunting of their meat. In 1982 scientists and health officials used acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to describe the development of infections due to a weaker immune system. It wasn’t until 1983 when scientists discovered that AIDS was caused by the virus HIV.
The first form of treatment for HIV in 1987 was Azidothymidine. This drug had previously failed to reduce the reduction of tumor cells. Scientists then found a remade version of Azidothymidine called Compound S. This drug was rushed through the drug testing process due to the risks that many patients were under from HIV. The new drug was very quickly administered to patients to test the possible side effects and the drug was deemed safe to use. To test the drugs effectiveness doctors performed a double blind trial with around 300 HIV patients. Some were given a placebo and some were given the real drug. It was evident that the drug was effective because after 16 weeks, one group only had 1 death whereas the other group had 19. The trial was then ended as it was unethical for one group to not be treated at all. After some time it became evident that the virus had mutated to resist the drug showing more drugs were needed to fight the virus.
The treatment for HIV today involves many classes of antiretroviral drugs which all block the virus at different points in its cycle and treat different forms of the virus. Today’s treatment often still uses compound S and so the discovery of the very first drug to treat HIV is deemed to still be useful in providing long and relatively healthy lives for HIV patients.
The discovery of HIV is extremely significant as its treatment can not only benefit infected person but it can also help reduce further transmission. To aid the detection of the virus in advance, a test for HIV has now been developed. A test called the ELISA test can be done which detects for HIV antibodies. Discovering HIV has allowed for a significant reduction in deaths to a virus which can be prevented. Discovering HIV also led to the revealing of the cause of AIDS hence why HIV has been such a significant discovery. HIV has allowed people to learn about major behavior changes which can overall improve their health and reduce transmission of the virus.
