HIV Virus Identified
Luc Montagnier and colleagues identified the HIV retrovirus as the cause of AIDS
May 20, 1983
Finding the Cause of AIDS
By 1982, doctors knew that AIDS was destroying the immune systems of thousands of people, but they did not yet know why. The race to identify the cause was urgent. In May 1983, French virologist Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and her team at the Pasteur Institute in Paris published a paper announcing they had isolated a new retrovirus from a patient with swollen lymph nodes. They named it LAV, or Lymphadenopathy-Associated Virus. The following year, American researcher Robert Gallo also announced the discovery of a virus he called HTLV-III. After an international dispute, scientists agreed both teams had found the same virus.
What HIV Does to the Body
In 1986, the virus was officially named Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. It attacks a specific type of white blood cell called a CD4+ T cell, which plays a key role in the immune system's ability to fight infection. As HIV destroys more of these cells, the immune system weakens. When the CD4 count drops below a certain level, or when certain infections appear, a person is diagnosed with AIDS. HIV is a retrovirus, meaning it inserts its genetic material into the host cell's DNA, making it extremely difficult to eliminate from the body entirely.
Recognition and Ongoing Research
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier, her colleague at the Pasteur Institute, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008 for the discovery of HIV. Robert Gallo was not included in the prize, which remained a source of controversy. The identification of HIV was a turning point because it enabled scientists to develop blood tests, understand transmission, and eventually create antiretroviral drugs. Today, research continues toward a vaccine and a functional cure. HIV remains a major global health challenge, with approximately 39 million people living with the virus worldwide.