The document summarizes the history and effects of HIV/AIDS. It describes how HIV infects CD4+ T cells and monocytes by binding to CD4 receptors. The virus then creates a DNA copy of itself using reverse transcriptase and integrates its DNA into the host cell's DNA. This allows the virus to replicate. The document also outlines key events in the discovery of HIV in the 1980s by French and American researchers. It explains how HIV destroys CD4+ T cells, leading to immune deficiency and the progression to AIDS. Both cellular and humoral immunity are affected as the virus develops escape mutants and masks neutralizing epitopes on its envelope.