<Li> Genetic studies of the virus indicate that, in or about 1966, HIV first arrived in the Americas, infecting one person in Haiti . At this time, many Haitians were working in Congo, providing the opportunity for infection . </Li> <Dl> <Dt> 1968 </Dt> </Dl> <Ul> <Li> A 2003 analysis of HIV types found in the United States, compared to known mutation rates, suggests that the virus may have first arrived in the United States in this year . (The disease spread from the 1966 American strain, but remained unrecognized for another 12 years . This is, however, contradicted by the estimated area of time of initial infection of Robert Rayford who was most likely infected around 1959 . </Li> </Ul> <Li> A 2003 analysis of HIV types found in the United States, compared to known mutation rates, suggests that the virus may have first arrived in the United States in this year . (The disease spread from the 1966 American strain, but remained unrecognized for another 12 years . This is, however, contradicted by the estimated area of time of initial infection of Robert Rayford who was most likely infected around 1959 . </Li>

When was hiv first identified in the united states