Britannica
Sources used in this answer
When did HIV-1 group M likely emerge in Africa?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
AIDS
Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1 virions (green) budding from a cultured lymphocyte. Multiple round bumps on the cell surface represent sites of virion assembly and budding.
Genetic studies indicate that HIV-1 group M, the pandemic strain of the virus, likely emerged in central and western Africa between 1884 and 1924.1
While the exact origins of AIDS remain a subject of study, it is considered a zoonosis, likely transmitted to humans through the hunting and consumption of chimpanzees infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Following its emergence, the virus began spreading more widely throughout the region in the late 1950s.1