HIV:Acronym for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS (acquiredimmunodeficiencysyndrome).HIVhas also been called the human lymphotropicvirustype III, thelymphadenopathy-associated virusand thelymphadenopathy virus. No matter what name is applied, it is aretrovirus. (A retrovirus has anRNAgenomeand areverse transcriptaseenzyme. Using the reverse transcriptase, the virus uses its RNA as a template for making complementaryDNAwhich can integrate into the DNA of thehostorganism).
Although the American research Robert Gallo at theNational Institutes of Health(NIH) believed he was the first to findHIV, it is now generally accepted that the FrenchphysicianLuc Montagnier (1932-) andhisteam at the Pasteur Institute discovered HIVin1983-84.
