HIV Origin and Human Transmission: Tracing the Virus's Evolution

HIV is believed to have originated in non-human primates in West-Central Africa. The most likely scenario for the transmission of HIV to humans is through direct contact with infected primate blood or other body fluids, possibly during hunting or butchering of wild animals. Over time, the virus evolved and adapted to humans, giving rise to the HIV-1 and HIV-2 strains that currently infect humans.