Discovery of HIV

Date: May 20, 1983 • Location: Paris, France

A team of researchers led by French virologist Luc Montagnier published their discovery of HIV, but were not then certain that it caused AIDS.

Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, their interaction with host organism physiology and immunity, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy.