HIV Could Be 100 Years Old - How Can That Be?

A new report in the journal Nature says new analysis of preserved blood specimens now estimates that HIV could be 100 years old. Analysis estimates that HIV arose somewhere between 1884 and 1924 with a focused estimate of around 1908. Previous estimates date HIV as 50 to 70 years old. Experts believe the virus jumped from monkeys to humans somewhere in Africa. HIV and AIDS was not recognized officially in humans until a rash of Pneumocystis Pneumonia and Kaposi's Sarcoma broke out among gay men in 1981.

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