The Effects of HIV Mutations on the Immune System Science C.J. Stimson INTRODUCTION The topic of this paper is the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, and whether or not mutations undergone by the virus allow it to survive in the immune system. The cost of treating all persons with AIDS in 1993 in the United States was $7.8 billion, and it is estimated that 20,000 new cases of AIDS are reported every 3 months to the CDC. This question …showed first 75 words of 2083 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2083 total…to the conclusion that at present, there is no answer to this question. Although, other questions have been exposed, including: does the virus mutate at random or is it systematic? And how does the virus know where to mutate in order to continue surviving undetected? These are all questions that must first be answered before we even begin to try to determine if viral mutations are what allows HIV to survive in the immune system.