9th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections Seattle, Washington - February 24 -February 28, 2002

Conf Retroviruses Opportunistic Infect 2002 Feb 24-28;9:abstract no. L1
Hahn B
University of Alabama, Birmingham

BACKGROUND: Evidence of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection has been reported for 30 different species of African non-human primates. 2 of these viruses, SIVcpz from chimpanzees and SIVsm from sooty mangabeys, have crossed the species barrier to humans on at least 10 different occasions, generating human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 (HIV-1 and HIV-2), respectively. Thus, an important public health question is whether humans continue to be exposed to SIV, and whether such exposure has led to additional zoonotic transmissions.

METHODS: To assess this risk, my group has begun to characterize the prevalence, geographic distribution, and genetic diversity of naturally occurring SIV infections, investigated to what extent humans are exposed to SIV through hunting and handling of primate bushmeat, developed non-invasive methods of SIV detection in endangered primate species, and conducted the first prevalence study and molecular characterization of SIVcpz in wild-living chimpanzees.

CONCLUSIONS: The implications of our findings for the origins of HIV-1 and SIVcpz, and for assessing human zoonotic risk, will be discussed.

020224
L1

Copyright © 2002 - Foundation for Retrovirology and Human Health. Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Foundation for Retrovirology and Human Health. Licensed (AIDSLINE) from National Library of Medicine.