The Role of Nanotechnology in HIV Pharmacotherapy

Abstract

Three decades ago, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was identified as the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) . Since the first reported cases in 1981, HIV is responsible for more than 25 million deaths worldwide. According to the last World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, about 35 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, where 3.2 million are children. Only in 2013, there was an estimated 2.1 million new infections, and 1.5 million people died of AIDS-related causes in the same year. In this context, HIV/AIDS remains as the most deadly infectious disease in the world. There is clearly a disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS on the sub-Saharan African region, accounting for the seventy-one percent of all people living with HIV. Other infected regions to a lesser extent include the Caribbean, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia; being all lowand middle-income countries. Thus, HIV/AIDS represents one of the greatest challenges of public health of the 21st century, causing an important socioeconomic impact all over the world.