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HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body's immune system. It can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

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- The first known case of HIV-1 infection in human blood was discovered in 1959 and came from a sample collected from a man who had passed away in Kinshasa, in what was then the Belgian Congo.

- HIV was first identified as a retrovirus. Scientists came up with the term HIV-1 in 1986, and that is how we currently refer to the virus.

- HIV was considered an emerging infectious disease, which is a disease that recently appeared in a community or that has previously existed but is expanding fast in frequency or geographic scope is referred to as emerging infectious diseases.

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- The first known instance of HIV-1 infection in human blood was discovered in 1959 and came from a sample collected from a man who had passed away in Kinshasa, in what was then the Belgian Congo. For many years, HIV gradually spread throughout Africa and then to other regions of the world. The virus has been present in the US since at least the mid-to-late 1970s.

- There are now 84.2 million [64.0-113.0 million] HIV-positive individuals worldwide, and there have been an estimated 40.1 million [33.6-48.6 million] HIV-related deaths since the epidemic's start. Towards the end of 2021, there were 38.4 million [33.9-43.8 million] HIV-positive individuals worldwide.

- The picture includes the timeline of the disease spread as well as a map of the detected cases worldwide.

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- Virulence: The capacity of a disease or microbe to harm a host is known as virulence. The degree of harm an organism does to its host is referred to as virulence in most systems, particularly those that are animal-based.

- HIV is highly virulent because its reproduction mechanism results in numerous genetic mistakes and mutations, which causes the chemicals on its surface that the immune system's cells would typically identify to differ greatly. Due to the lack of memory on the part of the immune system, it can avoid quick immunological attacks.

- Research findings support an increase in HIV-1 virulence throughout the duration of the epidemic. This indicates a loss of CD4+ T cells of roughly 148 cells/l and an increase of 0.39 log10 copies/ml of viral RNA observed during early infection, extrapolated over the 30 years from the first report of AIDS.

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- Azidothymidine (AZT) was initially made available as an HIV treatment in 1987. An antiviral medication called AZT is used in conjunction with other anti-HIV medications to treat (but not cure) HIV. AZT works to prevent the virus's spread and stop it from getting worse by blocking the enzymes that HIV requires to reproduce. At the time, AZT was a big assistance, but it also has some negative side effects, particularly when used for a long period.

- Scientists realized that using one or two medications will not help with HIV since it rapidly evolves and resists the medications, and increasing the dosage would be fatal for humans. Therefore, they developed a new treatment. The treatment for HIV is called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART involves taking a combination of HIV medicines (called an HIV treatment regimen) every day. ART is recommended for everyone who has HIV. This treatment is proven to be very helpful as it is very unlikely that all species of HIV will evolve to resist every single medication used.

- Antiretrovirals (ARVs) are used successfully to treat and prevent HIV infection. Other novel diagnostic technologies including nanotechnology, microfluidics, -omics science, next-generation sequencing, genomics big data, and machine learning could help end the HIV epidemic.

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- Governments from several different nations have actively supported HIV/AIDS awareness initiatives. These and other HIV prevention initiatives aimed at at-risk populations are being developed, planned, and implemented by federal agencies across the board; distributing informational materials and warnings about HIV dangers and prevention; training medical practitioners about HIV prevention methods supported by evidence.

- Some innovations include communication training and, where possible, sexual negotiation skills; improved access to resources like condoms and appropriate and reasonably priced health services, including those for the early detection and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and implementation of innovative or evidence-based programming for HIV prevention. Some initiatives include Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S., the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund, and Preventing Healthcare-Associated Infections.

- Fund HIV research, spread awareness across different countries, encourage safe sex, and support any research that may help cure the disease.

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- Weakened family and societal support systems, decreased participation in the formal education of young people as a result of AIDS in the family, depleted family income due to loss of work, and poor disease management present additional vulnerabilities.

- Sex protection as well as awareness that AIDs is not a monstrous disease since people used to be scared of HIV patients and many misconceptions have changed as well.

- People learned to be more careful of who they interact with but they also learned that HIV is not something that is caused by direct contact and that protections can help avoid the disease. Moreover, HIV patients are more respected.

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Working on this assignment helped me gain so much knowledge in a simple but enjoyable way. The most revealing aspect I have learned about HIV is that there are now 84.2 million HIV-positive individuals worldwide. Further, one fact that surprised me was that HIV originated from chimpanzees and jumped from them to humans multiple times! And I believe the padlet assignment included all the necessary information about the disease that all audiences must know.