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History of identification of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus:
*In May 1983, doctors from the Pasteur Institute in France reported that they had isolated a new retrovirus that they believed was the cause of AIDS. The virus was later named LAV (lymphadenopathy-associated virus) and a sample was sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which was later passed to the National Cancer Institute.
*In May 1984 a team led by Robert Gallo of the United States confirmed the discovery of the virus, but they renamed it human T lymphotropic virus type III or HTLV-III.
Dr. Jay Levy's group at the University of California, San Francisco also played a role in the discovery of HIV. He independently isolated the AIDS virus in 1983 and named it the AIDS-associated Retrovirus (ARV).
*In January 1985, a number of more-detailed reports were published concerning LAV and HTLV-III, and by March 1985 it was clear that the viruses were the same, from the same source, and were the etiological agent of AIDS.
*In May 1986, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses ruled that both names should be dropped and a new name, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), be used.