Chimpanzees And Hiv/aids Research
A large population of HIV-infected chimpanzees exists in the U.S. today due to their prior proposed use in HIV/AIDS experiments. An exact number is difficult to determine. According to a 1997 report prepared by NIH, Although HIV infection of chimpanzees has not been an ideal model of disease, at least 198 chimpanzees have been used to date in HIV-related studies.
Eleven years after the launch of the chimpanzee breeding program to produce chimpanzees for AIDS research, NIH formally acknowledged the chimpanzee model of AIDS had been of limited success. In his testimony in 2000 before Congress, John Strandberg of NIH said:
Chimpanzees are the only animal, other than man, that can be infected with human immunodeficiency virus . For this reason, it was hoped that they could provide information on the progression from HIV infection to AIDS and in the development of treatments and vaccines. However, despite the fact that chimpanzees become persistently infected with HIV, we found that the development of clinical AIDS occurs in chimpanzees late or not at all.
Challenges Of Virus Tracking
One of the primary challenges experts have in tracking a virus to the initial infection is that it may present as another infection. For example, when HIV first appeared in the U.S., doctors reported rare lung infections in a group of individuals.
Because of this, doctors may never identify cases as being due to HIV. People may have had HIV before these individuals, but received a diagnosis for another condition or did not seek medical attention.
Even then, if doctors determine that someone has HIV, it is challenging to identify who had the virus first because of the speed at which it spreads.
- the host of the virus
- how many introductions to humans there have been
- how it connects to previous events
- if there is evidence for local adaptation
In some cases, an emergent virus is a variation of an existing virus, such as the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This knowledge allows for the rapid development of treatments and vaccines as experts already understand the mechanics of similar viruses.
Understanding the origin of a virus makes it possible to determine how it transmits from one animal or person to another. Not only does this help scientists develop treatments, but they can also work on methods to prevent its spread.
The Evolution Of Research And Treatment
In September 1985, President Ronald Reagan called AIDS research a top priority for his administration. This came amidst criticism that government funding was inadequate and not enough had been done to find a treatment or cure. This was Reagans first public statement about AIDS.
Zidovudine, commonly known as AZT, was introduced in 1987 as the first treatment for HIV. Scientists also developed treatments to reduce transmission during pregnancy.
In 1995, President Bill Clinton hosted the first White House Conference on HIV and AIDS, and called for a vaccine research center. This center later opened in 1999.
Throughout the years, the government has continued to fund HIV- and AIDS-related:
- systems of care
- treatment
- studies and research
In 1996, in Vancouver, researchers at the 11th International Conference on AIDS introduced the concept of highly active antiretroviral therapy . This regimen requires people with HIV to take a combination of at least three medications daily. HAART, which is commonly known as antiretroviral therapy, became the new treatment standard in 1997.
Between 1996 and 1997, deaths from HIV in the United States, largely as a result of HAART.
Also in 1997, the FDA approved Combivir. Combivir combines the drugs zidovudine and lamivudine into a single medication, making HIV medications easier to take.
The FDA continues to approve HIV medical products, regulating:
- product approval
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Spread To The Western Hemisphere
Further isolated occurrences of this infection may have been emerging as early as 1966. The virus eventually entered gay male communities in large United States cities, where a combination of casual, multi-partner sexual activity and relatively high transmission rates associated with anal intercourse allowed it to spread explosively enough to finally be noticed.
Because of the long incubation period of HIV before symptoms of AIDS appear, and because of the initially low incidence, HIV was not noticed at first. By the time the first reported cases of AIDS were found in large United States cities, the prevalence of HIV infection in some communities had passed 5%. Worldwide, HIV infection has spread from urban to rural areas, and has appeared in regions such as China and India.
Why Do We Care Does All This Research Into How The Virus Got Started Tell Us Anything About How To Stop It
Hunting chimps in West Central Africa.
Research into the HIV’s origins may eventually yield practical results. It could help scientists understand why HIV’s viral ancestor, SIV, doesn’t kill or even sicken chimps who carry it. With that knowledge, researchers might be able to make drugs with fewer side effects, or broad-spectrum vaccines that protect against all the strains of the disease that infect people today.
Korber suggests that in an era of emerging diseases, looking back on the virus’ shadowy origins offers a “history lesson,” or perhaps even a fable, with a moral attached. By the time doctors realized that HIV/AIDS existed, it had already taken up permanent residence in humans. They couldn’t have known about it before then, but, Korber says, at least now they know to be wary as the virus continues its shape-shifting spread around the globe. “The fact that it could be with us for quite a long time before we even realized it was there is kind of eye-opening,” she says. “I think it’s something to keep us on our toes. It helps us understand that we can be surprised.” And of course, HIV research may have a few surprises left for us, too.
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Aids: Origin Of Pandemic ‘was 1920s Kinshasa’
Health editor, BBC News website
The origin of the Aids pandemic has been traced to the 1920s in the city of Kinshasa, in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, scientists say.
An international team of scientists say a “perfect storm” of population growth, sex and railways allowed HIV to spread.
A feat of viral archaeology was used to find the pandemic’s origin, the team report in the journal Science.
They used archived samples of HIV’s genetic code to trace its source, with evidence pointing to 1920s Kinshasa.
Their report says a roaring sex trade, rapid population growth and unsterilised needles used in health clinics probably spread the virus.
Meanwhile Belgium-backed railways had one million people flowing through the city each year, taking the virus to neighbouring regions.
Experts said it was a fascinating insight into the start of the pandemic.
HIV came to global attention in the 1980s and has infected nearly 75 million people.
It has a much longer history in Africa, but where the pandemic started has remained the source of considerable debate.
Natural History Of Sivcpz Infection
Initially, SIVcpz was thought to be harmless for its natural host. This was because none of the few captive apes that were naturally SIVcpz infected suffered from overt immunodeficiency, although in retrospect this conclusion was based on the immunological and virological analyses of only a single naturally infected chimpanzee . In addition, SIV-infected sooty mangabeys and African green monkeys showed no sign of disease despite high viral loads in blood and lymphatic tissues , leading to the belief that all naturally occurring SIV infections are nonpathogenic. However, the sporadic prevalence of SIVcpz, along with its more recent monkey origin, suggested that its natural history might differ from that of other primate lentiviruses. To address this, a prospective study was initiated in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, the only field site where SIVcpz infected chimpanzees are habituated and so can be observed in their natural habitat.
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How Does Hiv Infection Begin
Blood, semen, or vaginal fluids that have been infected with HIV can cause the disease. In most cases, people who have HIV are infected by having unprotected sex with someone who has the virus. In addition to sharing needles, HIV-positive people are also more likely to acquire the disease through drug use.
When Was The First Hiv Outbreak
Facts about the subject. A case of AIDS was reported in the United States for the first time. In June of 1981, the United States entered the U.S. In todays world, there are more than 1 billion people. The United States has more than 2 million people living with HIV. Each year, there are more than 35,000 new infections. Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, thousands of people have died.
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Hiv And Aids: An Origin Story
When HIV first began infecting humans in the 1970s, scientists were unaware of its existence. Now, more than 35 million people across the globe live with HIV/AIDS. The medical community, politicians and support organizations have made incredible progress in the fight against this formerly unknown and heavily stigmatized virus. Infection rates have fallen or stabilized in many countries across the world, but we have a long way to go.
Image via aids.gov. The WHO estimates that 97 percent of the world’s HIV positive population lives in low income nations where anti-viral treatments are scarce or unavailable.
Where Did Aids Come From
Scientists have traced the origin of HIV back to chimpanzees and simian immunodeficiency virus , an HIV-like virus that attacks the immune system of monkeys and apes.
In 1999, researchers identified a strain of chimpanzee SIV called SIVcpz, which was nearly identical to HIV. Chimps, the scientist later discovered, hunt and eat two smaller species of monkeysred-capped mangabeys and greater spot-nosed monkeysthat carry and infect the chimps with two strains of SIV. These two strains likely combined to form SIVcpz, which can spread between chimpanzees and humans.
SIVcpz likely jumped to humans when hunters in Africa ate infected chimps, or the chimps infected blood got into the cuts or wounds of hunters. Researchers believe the first transmission of SIV to HIV in humans that then led to the global pandemic occurred in 1920 in Kinshasa, the capital and largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The virus spread may have spread from Kinshasa along infrastructure routes via migrants and the sex trade.
In the 1960s, HIV spread from Africa to Haiti and the Caribbean when Haitian professionals in the colonial Democratic Republic of Congo returned home. The virus then moved from the Caribbean to New York City around 1970 and then to San Francisco later in the decade.
International travel from the United States helped the virus spread across the rest of the globe.
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Groups And Subtypes Of Hiv
Genetic studies have led to a general classification system for HIV that is primarily based on the degree of similarity in viral gene sequence. The two major classes of HIV are HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is divided into three groups, known as group M , group O , and group N . Worldwide, HIV-1 group M causes the majority of HIV infections, and it is further subdivided into subtypes A through K, which differ in expression of viral genes, virulence, and mechanisms of transmission. In addition, some subtypes combine with one another to create recombinant subtypes. HIV-1 group M subtype B is the virus that spread from Africa to Haiti and eventually to the United States. Pandemic forms of subtype B are found in North and South America, Europe, Japan, and Australia. Subtypes A, C, and D are found in sub-Saharan Africa, although subtypes A and C are also found in Asia and some other parts of the world. Most other subtypes of group M are generally located in specific regions of Africa, South America, or Central America.
In 2009 a new strain of HIV-1 was discovered in a woman from Cameroon. The virus was closely related to a strain of SIV found in wild gorillas. Researchers placed the new virus into its own group, HIV-1 group P, because it was unique from all other types of HIV-1. It was unclear whether the newly identified virus causes disease in humans.
What Is The ‘four
In 1983, the Centers for Disease Control in the United States listed the main at-risk groups, including partners of people with AIDS, people who inject drugs, haemophiliacs and people who have recently been to Haiti. At the time that cases of AIDS began to emerge in the USA, the absence of definitive information about HIV and its link to AIDS, inflated the panic and stigma surrounding the epidemic. Before long people began to talk colloquially of a 4-H Club at risk of AIDS: homosexuals, haemophiliacs, heroin addicts and Haitians, contributing to further stigmatisation.21
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How Could Aids Have Remained Unidentified For 40 Years In Humans
If HIV was introduced to the human population before the Second World War, why didn’t it cause recognisable AIDS cases before the 1970s?
Kevin de Cock pointed out in his Monday presentation that the small number of HIV case reports come predominantly from academic centres, and that unusual diseases were most likely to be noticed in Europeans with access to care at academic medical centres. Unusual cases of cryptococcal meningitis went un-noted until the late 1970s, although polio researcher Stanley Plotkin said that in his experience, “you don’t recognise things unless you are prepared for them, especially if they are low incidence illnesses”.
This pattern prior to the early 1980s suggests that HIV was causing a low incidence of AIDS. If it had been causing a high incidence of illness, argues tropical medicine specialist Alan Fleming, the illness would have been recognised by local people without the aid of epidemiologists. That is what happened in Uganda, where a new disease was named Slim by local people before any epidemiological investigation was conducted.
Would You Definitely Know If You Had Hiv
HIV tests can only detect HIV infections if they are positive there are no signs or symptoms associated with HIV. However, there are times when certain symptoms may indicate that an infection has taken place, particularly if you believe you have been exposed to HIV or if you have simply been reluctant to get tested.
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How Was The First Person Infected With Hiv
A human case of HIV is first documented in the Congo when a man died there and his preserved blood samples later confirmed he had HIV infection. A 49-year-old Haitian shipping clerk, Ardouin Antonio, died of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, a disease that is closely associated with AIDS, in New York City on June 28.
How Can I Protect Myself
The best way to protect yourself from HIV is to not have sex and not share needles.
If you decide to have sex, reduce your risk of getting HIV by:
- using a condom every time you have sex
- getting tested for HIV and making sure all partners do too
- reducing the number of sexual partners you have
- getting tested and treated for STDs having an STD increases the risk of HIV infection
Understanding how HIV spreads can help you make safer choices about sex. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions about HIV and if you want to get tested.
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First Human Hiv Infection
Infectious Knowledge
Actor Rock Hudson was the first major public figure known to have died of AIDS. Tennis great Arthur Ashe also died from transfusion-related AIDS. Ryan White, a 13-year-old hemophiliac with AIDS, who eventually died, became famous for his fight to attend school. And basketball superstar Magic Johnson, 10 years after he announced that he was HIV positive, is still living a healthy life with the disease.
A plasma sample taken in 1959 from an adult male living in the Democratic Republic of Congo was found to contain HIV. The virus was found in tissue samples from an African American teenager who died in St. Louis in 1969, and HIV was found in tissue samples from a Norwegian sailor who died around 1976. Many scientists believe that HIV was probably introduced into humans around the 1940s or the early 1950s, although it has been suggested that the first case may actually have occurred in the 1930s.
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Dangerous Diseases and Epidemics 2002 by David Perlin, Ph.D., and Ann Cohen. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group Inc.
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The Link Between Hiv And Siv
HIV is a type of lentivirus, which means it attacks the immune system. In a similar way, the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus attacks the immune systems of monkeys and apes.1
Research found that HIV is related to SIV and there are many similarities between the two viruses. HIV-1 is closely related to a strain of SIV found in chimpanzees, and HIV-2 is closely related to a strain of SIV found in sooty mangabeys.2
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What Year Did The Hiv Virus Start
A case of AIDS was reported in the United States for the first time. In June of 1981, the United States entered the U.S. In todays world, there are more than 1 billion people. The United States has more than 2 million people living with HIV. Each year, there are more than 35,000 new infections. Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, thousands of people have died.