Posted on 05/25/2006 2:14:18 PM PDT by blam
HIV origin 'found in wild chimps'
This mother chimp is SIV positive
The origin of HIV has been found in wild chimpanzees living in southern Cameroon, researchers report. A virus called SIVcpz (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus from chimps) was thought to be the source, but had only been found in a few captive animals.
Now, an international team of scientists has identified a natural reservoir of SIVcpz in animals living in the wild.
The findings are to be published in Science magazine.
It is thought that people hunting chimpanzees first contracted the virus - and that cases were first seen in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo - the nearest urban area - in 1930.
Scientists believe the rareness of cases - and the fact that symptoms of Aids differ significantly between individuals - explains why it was another 50 years before the virus was named.
This team of researchers, including experts from the universities of Nottingham, Montpellier and Alabama, have been working for a decade to identify the source of HIV.
While SIVcpz was only identified in captive animals, the possibility remained that yet another species could be the natural reservoir of both HIV and SIVcpz.
Gene tests
It had only been possible to detect SIVcpz using blood test - which meant that only captive animals could be studied.
This study, carried out alongside experts from the Project Prevention du Sida au Cameroun (PRESICA) in Cameroon, involved analysing chimpanzee faeces, collected from the forest floor in remote jungle areas.
The researchers went into the jungles of Cameroon
This was useful because University of Alabama researchers had been able to determine the genetic sequences of the chimpanzee viruses - which could then be searched for in the faecal samples.
Lab tests detected SIVcpz specific antibodies and genetic information linked to the virus in up to 35% of chimpanzees in some groups.
All of the data was then sent to the University of Nottingham for analysis, which revealed the extremely close genetic relationship between some of the samples and strains of HIV.
Chimpanzees in south-east Cameroon were found to have the viruses most similar to the form of HIV that has spread throughout the world.
The researchers say that, as well as solving the mystery about the origin of the virus, the findings open up avenues for future research.
But SIVcpz has not been found to cause any Aids-like illnesses in chimpanzees, so researchers are investigating why the animals do not suffer any symptoms, when humans - who are so genetically similar - do.
Close relation
Paul Sharp, professor of genetics at the University of Nottingham said: "It is likely that the jump between chimps and humans occurred in south-east Cameroon - and that virus then spread across the world.
"When you consider that HIV probably originated more than 75 years ago, it is most unlikely that there are any viruses out there that will prove to be more closely related to the human virus."
He said the team were currently working to understand the genetic differences between SIVcpz and HIV evolved as a response to the species jump.
Keith Alcorn of Aidsmap said: "The researchers have pinned down a very specific location where they believe the precursor of HIV came from.
"But there are vast areas of west Africa where other forms of SIVcpz lineages exist, and the possibility remains for human infection.
Yusef Azad, policy director of the National Aids Trust said: "This research is interesting as all discoveries which relate to the history and origins of HIV could be of value to the vital work being carried out by scientists in developing a HIV vaccine."
Lets just hope these monkeys dont get caught in a dust storm and get blown all over planet
Too late. Blowing all over the planet is what has caused the AIDS epidemic.
So the story about the gay flight attendant and the green monkey is true?
I wish they would talk more about how the jump was made. Was it from eating chimps, getting bitten by them, or using them in perverted sexual stunts?
Blowing in the wind?
That may not be known. However, given the frequency of activity and the amount of bodily fluid exposed, butchering and eating seems most likely.
They got carried away in Cameroon
I guess I'd best stay away from cigars with Cameroon wrappers.
Retroviruses are very fragile and would be instantly destroyed in the digestive tract. Blood to blood contact (and large amounts of it over a prolonged period) is generally necessary.
SIV is a related retrovirus found in apes, hence the name Simian Immunodeficiency Virus. It has been hypothesized for two decades that HIV is a mutated form of SIV. This study purports to show a connection, but that remains to be seen. In any case, one of the problems of finding an animal model to study HIV is that it doesn't produce symptoms in apes. Add to that the fact that it apparently often takes decades to exhibit symptoms and you have an added layer of difficulty.
I would think the "perverted sexual stunts" was how AIDS was passed. Someone got WAAYYY too close to the chimps. 'Course maybe they just ate wrong portions of chimp body. (gross either way)
How about a little bestiality, and an attempt for a back-cross breeding between chimps and humans?
Chavez has the intelligence level of a monkey. Just look at that face! It's obvious, if not in his looks alone, just see his words and deeds. It's clear to me.
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