HIV: medical milestones and clinical challenges.

Since its discovery in the 1980s, HIV has infected every continent on the globe by crossing socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, and gender barriers, and it continues to contribute to human morbidity and mortality. Advances in medicine and technology have led to new combination medications for HIV-positive patients, early HIV testing methodologies, and potential for an HIV vaccine, and they have given researchers and clinicians a larger armamentarium with which to treat and prevent the disease. Even with these vast improvements in HIV prevention, detection, and treatment, scientists have been unsuccessful in developing its vaccine. Therefore, the search for a cure for HIV remains the marathon of the millennium.