Scientists believe they have found a "missing link" in the evolution of the virus that causes AIDS. It bridges the gap between the infection that does no harm to most monkeys and one that kills millions of people. That link is a virus that is killing chimpanzees in the wild a disturbingly high rate, according to a study in Nature.
Chimpanzees are the first primates besides man shown to get sick in the wild in significant numbers from a virus related to HIV. The discovery of disease killing chimps may help doctors come up with a workable vaccine for humans.
The monkey version of the virus that causes AIDS is called simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), but most apes and monkeys that have it show no symptoms or illness. So "if we could figure out why the monkeys don't get sick, perhaps we could apply that to people", said lead author BEAtrice Hahn, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The study found chimps infected with SIV had death rate 10 to 16 time higher than uninfected chimps. Necropsies of dead infected shows low counts of T-cell white blodd protiens that are just like the levels found in humans with AIDS. And when experts looked at a particular strain, they found that it wa closest relative possible to the virus that first infected humans.
Chimpanzees are the first primates besides man shown to get sick in the wild in significant numbers from a virus related to HIV. The discovery of disease killing chimps may help doctors come up with a workable vaccine for humans.
The monkey version of the virus that causes AIDS is called simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), but most apes and monkeys that have it show no symptoms or illness. So "if we could figure out why the monkeys don't get sick, perhaps we could apply that to people", said lead author BEAtrice Hahn, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The study found chimps infected with SIV had death rate 10 to 16 time higher than uninfected chimps. Necropsies of dead infected shows low counts of T-cell white blodd protiens that are just like the levels found in humans with AIDS. And when experts looked at a particular strain, they found that it wa closest relative possible to the virus that first infected humans.
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