Isolation of the AIDS virus...

[woffer]

Does anybody know for sure the factors leading up to the isolation of the AIDS virus? For example, was animal testing involved? The whole thing happened before my time so obviously I don't rembember, and I can't really find any information on the history of it either.

 

[katpepul]

There is a movie that details that subject called And The Band Played On. It tells the whole story.

 

[Jorost]

HIV was isolated by two different teams at roughly the same time. The American team was under Dr. Jay Levy, and the French under Dr. Luc Montagnier. Both claim to be the "first" to isolate HIV, but the fact is that biological research is a series of steps and a huge team effort, so it is probably safe to say that both "discovered" HIV.

One of the problems in isolating HIV was the difference between SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) and its human counterpart. These differences for many years led researchers down the wrong paths. So, yes, it's fair to say that some animal research was involved. But it's a complicated story.

Laurie Garrett's book "The Coming Plague" details these events very nicely.