GC: n

S: WHO – http://www.who.int/topics/hiv_aids/en/ (last access: 12 September 2013); http://www.aids.gov/ (last access: March 2013); DORLAND.

N: 1. 1986, initialism (acronym) from human immunodeficiency virus, name for either of the two viruses that cause AIDS.
2. HIV, in full human immunodeficiency virus, retrovirus that attacks and gradually destroys the immune system, leaving the host unprotected against infection.
3. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that infects cells of the immune system, destroying or impairing their function. As the infection progresses, the immune system becomes weaker, and the person becomes more susceptible to infections. The most advanced stage of HIV infection is acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It can take 10-15 years for an HIV-infected person to develop AIDS; antiretroviral drugs can slow down the process even further.
4. HIV is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse (anal or vaginal), transfusion of contaminated blood, sharing of contaminated needles, and between a mother and her infant during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.
5. Cultural interrelation: Yesterday (2004) by Darrell Roodt, among others.

S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=HIV&searchmode=none (last access: 4 September 2014). 2. EncBrit http://www.britannica.com/science/HIV (last access: 12 September 2013). 3 & 4. WHO – http://www.who.int/topics/hiv_aids/en/ (last access: 12 September 2013).

SYN: Human Immunodeficiency Virus

S: GDT (last access: 4 September 2014); TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 4 September 2014).

CR: AIDS, AIDS-related complex, antiretroviral therapy, HIV infection, infectious disease, RNA virus.