HIV originates from wild chimpanzees

For the first time, scientists found the source of the closest relative virus to HIV - SIV virus - it is a wild chimp. The finding confirms the theory that wild chimpanzees are the culprits in spreading AIDS.

This mother chimp is positive for SIV. " The report says a group of chimpanzees spread HIV. The community resides in Cameroon, " said Dr. Beatrice Hahn from the University of Alabama (USA) and colleagues.

In humans, HIV leads to AIDS, but its variant chimp is called SIV (simian immune deficiency virus).

To date, SIV has been found in several captive chimpanzees, but Hahn wants to prove it will also find it in the wild.

His team hired professional searchers to locate lurking chimpanzees in southern Cameroon. They collected 599 stool samples from subspecies of chimpanzees Pan troglodytes troglodytes.

In these stool samples, Hahn's team found the SIV virus DNA and evidence of itself. They surmised that SIV infection was very common in chimpanzee populations.

" In 5 of the 10 survey areas we found evidence of infection. A total of 16 infected chimpanzees were recorded and we were able to decipher the sequence of the virus in all of them. " , Hahn said. In some groups, the infection rate is up to 35% of individuals.

All data is sent to processing at Nottingham University. As a result, some of these SIV gene samples have an extremely close genetic relationship with the human HIV virus strain.

The team will continue to investigate why this animal does not develop any symptoms, while humans - with the same set of genes as them - do.

Mysterious transmission route

Hahn's research assumes that the SIV virus has been transmitted from chimpanzees to humans not only once. However, the infection is still a mystery.

" We know that we can't get sick if we take care of a chimp, or from the toilet seat, like you can't get HIV from the toilet ," Hahn said.

"The infection requires contact between the fluid and blood in the body. Therefore, it is possible that the virus has passed through the bite when humans hunt chimpanzees."

T. An