Banco de la Libertad de España

In lab conditions, the Ebola virus has been shown to spread through the air. However, in real-world living conditions and in hospital settings, there is no evidence that Ebola can be transmitted through the air. While there are fears that Ebola could mutate and become more easily transmissible, the director of the CDC, Dr. Tom Frieden, stated that there has been little change in the Ebola virus in the past 40 years. He also said that there is no evidence that Ebola has undergone any changes that would make it easier to spread from person to person.

Scientists are continuing to work on an HIV vaccine. A study conducted in Thailand in 2009 shows promise that a vaccine may provide some protection from the virus. Clinical trials of the vaccine are expected to begin in South Africa in 2015. Another area of study is microbicides, which are gels, films, or suppositories that can kill viruses and bacteria. Several studies of vaginal microbicides have shown positive results and further clinical trials are underway.

The 100th new antiretroviral drug is approved in 2009. In 2010 the HIV travel and immigration ban is finally lifted. That same year, the WHO, UNAIDS, and UNICEF publish a report that shows an estimated 5.25 million people received antiretroviral therapy that year, with an estimated 1.2 million of those starting treatment that year – the biggest recorded annual increase.

UNAIDS reports that the spread of HIV peaked in 1996 with 3.5 million new infections, and the number of AIDS-related deaths peaked in 2004 at 2.2 million. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 25 million people have died of AIDS-related causes. On the positive side, new HIV infections worldwide dropped by 17%.

In 2008, Luc Montagnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi are awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of the HIV virus. The ban on HIV-positive people entering the U.S. is lifted, and people with HIV/AIDS are permitted to enter the country on a case-by-cases basis.

The CDC releases new estimates for HIV infections, which are higher than previously thought (56,300 new infections per year versus 40,000), a reflection of a newer, more accurate system of recording rates.

June 5, 2006 marks 25 years since the first AIDS cases were reported and by 2007, the CDC reports over 565,000 deaths from AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. The projected life expectancy for a person diagnosed with HIV is 24.2 years, with a lifetime cost per person for HIV care of $618,900.

In 2003, the CDC estimated that 27,000 of the 40,000 new cases of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. were a result of transmission of the virus from persons who did not know they were infected. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004 approves a rapid HIV diagnostic kit that provides results in 20 minutes. Also in 2004 the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), U.S. Government initiative to help save the lives of those suffering from HIV/AIDS around the world, receives $350 million in funding from Congress.

The first National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is marked on February 7, 2001. In 2002, governments, civil and private organizations come together to establish the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. Young people are being increasingly diagnosed with HIV/AIDS – worldwide 10 million teenagers and young adults aged 15 to 24 are living with HIV.

In 1998, the CDC finds 49% of U.S. AIDS-related deaths are among African Americans, and Congress funds the Minority AIDS Initiative. By 1999, the World Health Organization (WHO_ reported that HIV/AIDS was the 4th leading cause of deaths worldwide, estimating 33 million people were living with HIV, and 14 million had died of AIDS. In 2000, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the WHO announced a joint initiative to collaborate with major pharmaceutical companies to reduce prices for HIV/AIDS drugs in developing countries.

For the first time since the beginning of the epidemic, the number of new cases of AIDS diagnosed in the U.S. declines. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the AIDS drug "cocktail," is announced in 1996 and by 1997 it becomes the new standard of HIV treatment.