How would something like HIV/AIDS have affected humanity if it existed in the past? It was only discovered in the 80s but it has been around since the 1920s.
>>18700233it probably would have stayed to the immidiate area, and I just don't mean the fact that it would far fewer gay dudes to spread to, but also shit like not being able to travel far and the lack of shit like blood transfusions that would help it spread being said local gay guys would have kept it extremely contained
>>18700254The context of HIV = Gay only applies to the USA/west while in places like Africa (where it came from) and Russia it's mainly due to straight sex It would probably be heavily isolated in Africa, where it came from but gradually become more expansive over time
>>18700306its less due to sex in those areas and more they have horrific medical practices where shit like reusing needles hasn't fully been clamped down on especially in regards to the various druggies they have, which is also why I mentioned blood transfusions
>>18700322It's a mix of both, but yes reuse of needles, along with ignoring safe sex (look at how the US gave them billions in dollars for condoms and they barely use it)An intresting fact is HIV on it's on is actually hard to get, with only around a 3% transmission rate. But gays who get it, along with reusing needles constantly, and just living in Africa, increase it every time
>>18700233The virus didn’t start in 1920, that’s only as far as scientists could trace the most common ancestor. It has been probably around for as long as people have been eating monkeys. The reason why it remained isolated was due to poor travel infrastructure so it didn’t spread further than nearby villages where someone became infected and eventually the virus reached a dead end.If HIV had remained there you would probably keep hearing stories about people dying from bizarre conditions that would leave doctors puzzled just like it happened in the USA around 1969. This scenario is nearly impossible though because sooner or later some infected African would immigrate to Europe and the infection would spread all over the world. I think Congo was ground zero and many Congolese moved to Belgium and France for work.
>>18700233Well if HIV a thing in the past, then it wouldn't be discovered until modern times since it stealthy ruins the immune system over years. HIV also isn't a respiratory virus, so it wouldn't spread rapidly without the aid of things like needles. And even if it did spread across the world, some Europeans would be immune thanks to that mutation they got.
>>18700233>>18700254>>18700371If it had made the zoonotic jump sooner it would still be somewhat limited in its' ability to transmit to other people, like you said, due to poor transportation. However: the entirety of the Ivory Coast, basically anywhere there's chimps and monkeys, the natural vector, would constantly be a breeding ground for "more attempts" due to Congolese and Cameroon (etc) people getting exposed to HIV via bushmeat. Combine that with the fact that a person infected with HIV is typically dormant, but contagious, for like 5 fucking years. My "cool intelligent guess" is I think if HIV had started sooner: the slave trade would have propagated it all over the Americas and it would have been a long, slow, nightmare; gradually infecting large portions of Haiti, Brazil, Cuba, and the Southern States - from a combination of blood exposure, sex, and breast feeding. My "cultural guess" is I think if HIV started sooner it wouldn't have had the cultural attachment it would towards homosexuals, but would be infinitely more connected to Africans, Blacks, Interracial, etc.. It would just be a big mystery: slaves, slave owners, half-breeds, would be fine, then 5 years they'd get a black dot and waste away. Sometimes people would only know because a 'crop' of babies would be born and they just didn't grow up.
