A study published in the Journal of Virology researched the relationship between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) in creating anti-HIV cells.  The researchers concluded that peptides from FIV may be used in creating a vaccine against HIV.  According to HealthDay, this study found that a protein from FIV, the virus that causes AIDS in cats, triggered an immune response in blood from HIV-infected people.  Scientists have long struggled to determine which components of HIV should be used to create a vaccine and none have been successful enough to be commercialized.  This research could be the progress they’re looking for.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that HIV can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS. Unlike some other viruses, the human body cannot get rid of HIV. That means that once a person is infected with HIV, they have it for life.  However, HIV does not guarantee that a person will end up with AIDS.  Before becoming a worldwide epidemic and public health concern, AIDS was first reported in the U.S. in 1981, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).  By killing or damaging cells of the body’s immune system, HIV progressively destroys the body’s ability to fight infections and certain cancers. People diagnosed with AIDS may get life-threatening diseases called opportunistic infections. These infections are caused by microbes such as viruses or bacteria that usually do not make healthy people sick.

According to the Annual Review of Immunology, in the absence of antiretroviral treatment, HIV establishes a chronic, progressive infection of the human immune system that invariably, over the course of years, leads to its destruction and fatal immunodeficiency.  The CDC states that, annually, there are approximately 50,000 new infections of HIV in the U.S. every year.  Annually, there are an estimated 15,500 deaths from AIDS and over 600,000 deaths recorded to date in the U.S.

Since 1981, more than 980,000 cases of AIDS have been reported in the U.S. NIAID also states that more than 1,000,000 Americans may be infected with HIV and approximately one-quarter of them may be unaware of their infection.  The epidemic is growing most rapidly among minority populations and is a leading killer of African-American males ages 25 to 44.  AIDS affects nearly seven times more African Americans and three times more Hispanics than whites. In recent years, an increasing number of African-American women and children are being affected by HIV/AIDS.