Open AccessWhat's new about AIDS?
Author(s) -
Aileen Gray
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of anthropology at mcmaster
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0707-3771
DOI - 10.15173/nexus.v11i1.139
Subject(s) - virology , virus , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , pandemic , host (biology) , biology , covid-19 , medicine , genetics , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology
AIDS is often portrayed by the media as an unusual virus. This paper places the AIDS virus in a number of different contexts to demonstrate that the AIDS pandemic is not a unique or a non·repeatable occurrence. Viral characteristics in general, and those of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) in particular, are examined, as are the concepts of viral evolution, human·virus interactions and host-parasite relationships.