a In 1979, the first reported AIDS case occurred in New York, and by mid-June 1981, unusual immune system failure among gay men was surfacing in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) initially name the disease GRID, or gay-related immune deficiency, because it was prominently found among homosexuals. It appeared to be a lifestyle-associated illness, linked to excessive stress to the immune system. Researchers believed that a highly infectious agent, which depleted T cells and could be transmitted through intercourse, blood, or blood products from mother to fetus, caused GRID. In July of 1982, the disease was renamed AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Since then, the disease's origins, the factors affecting it, the causes behind it, the symptoms arising from it, the groups at risk from it, and the practices leading to it have been widely and comprehensively researched. Despite painstaking efforts and billions of dollars spent on research, despite the numerous drugs created to control and relieve its various symptoms, there is still no cure for it. We ask the question, "Why?".

Since it began, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has claimed the lives of 21.8 million people, and, up to date, has its grasp on 36.1 million people. This is a very large amount, and considering the fact that there exist many more unreported and undiagnosed cases, AIDS has definitely wreaked havoc on human beings. It is anticipated that with the advancement of technology, increased awareness, and the advent of better and wider information dissipation, many ways to prevent the disease from spreading, lower the risks of contracting it, reduce the symptoms of victims even better, protect people from it and ultimately, eradicate the disease, will be found. At present, such hopes of a cure for AIDS are being bolstered by the discovery of new drugs that inhibit the virus' effects. Hopefully, the near future holds a cure for the sufferers of this disease.

AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. HIV's coat of protein fits the receptors in certain types of white blood cells (T cells) in the human immune system. When the virus is taken into these cells, it reproduces and destroys the immune system cell in the process. It attacks the body by attacking the immune system, making the person susceptible to and defenseless against many infections that he or she would normally be able to fight off easily. In many cases, HIV infection leads to AIDS, which ultimately leads to death.

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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)