subject: The Mystery Of The Aids Virus [print this page] So who discovered AIDS, the disease that has ravaged the world since the 1980's? According to research, two scientists, Dr. Robert Gallo and Dr. Luc Montagnier, found it. The scientists labored together to find HIV, the virus that causes the disease. However, there was some misunderstanding when the time came to make an announcement in regards to the discovery. Dr. Robert Gallo held a press conference and announced that it was he who found the virus by himself. What resulted was a strained relationship between the United States and France for failing to name Dr. Montagnier as one of the people that had labored towards discovering the virus. It took three whole years for relations between the 2 nations to be straightened out.
It has come to be accepted that it was Dr. Gallo and Dr. Montagnier who discovered AIDS. With this out of the way, scientists have been in a position to work together to provide info on how the disease is spread and how it may be contained. One is said to have AIDS, when the HIV virus destroys a lot of the white blood cells in the physique which can be liable for preventing off infection. The HIV virus is transmitted from one individual to another in several ways. The commonest is during sexual intercourse; when one comes into close contact with the bodily fluids, bloods, semen or vaginal secretions, of an individual already infected with the virus.
The 2 scientists who discovered AIDS opened doorways and created alternatives for scientists and doctors to work hand in hand to come up with methods to forestall the disease from spreading and killing people. Since the virus that causes AIDS is transmitted through sexual contact, one of the simplest ways to forestall the disease from spreading is abstinence. Where one cannot abstain, using a condom is highly recommended. Since the 1980's, there have been numerous campaigns on abstinence and using condoms in the media.
In the 1980's and early 1990's AIDS killed 1000's of people. However, the number of people that die from AIDS related problems has reduced in current times. You may ask who discovered AIDS and why they have not found a treatment for it. To-date, no scientist or doctor has been in a position to come up with a cure. The HIV virus has often been described as a tough one and consistently changing, hence making it arduous for scientists to study it successfully. However, the scientists have been in a position to come up develop different drugs that hold the virus in check.
There are numerous reasons why the doctors who discovered AIDS must be thanked. First, if it were not for their hard work, AIDS would have infected and killed thousands and thousands of people. The group that would have been worst affected would have been these between the ages of fifteen and forty as they are essentially the most sexually active. Think of what the world could be like if its most productive people had been lifeless or ailing and unable to work. Think of all the youngsters that may have been orphaned.
