Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease which first appeared in the United States in 1979 and came to the attention of the medical community in 1981 [387]. The disease is characterised by a profound defect in cell-mediated immunity leading to opportunistic infections such as Pneumocystis carinii as well as unusual neoplasms such as Kaposi ’s sarcoma. Recently there has been an enormous escalation in the number of reported cases both in the United States and worldwide. As of September 1, 1985, 13000 cases had been reported to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) from the United States alone and approximately 100 new cases were being reported each week.