In June 1981, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" described the first cases of what was to be known as the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Two years later, the agent responsible for the disease, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), was identified. Since then, according to the World Health Organization an estimated 40 million people have died from the disease. Where does this virus come from, and why such an emergence in the late 20^th century? These are the questions that it is now possible to answer in large part thanks to the numerous studies published over a little more than three decades. As with other emerging infectious diseases, initial cross-species transmission from an animal reservoir and subsequent favorable sociological factors associated with the evolution of human societies have led to the spread of a dramatic disease, for which no vaccine is presently available.