RESUMO
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) from west central Africa are recognized as the reservoir of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVcpzPtt) that have crossed at least twice to humans: this resulted in the AIDS pandemic (from human immunodeficiency virus HIV-1 group M) in one instance and infection of just a few individuals in Cameroon (by HIV-1 group N) in another. A third HIV-1 lineage (group O) from west central Africa also falls within the SIVcpzPtt radiation, but the primate reservoir of this virus has not been identified. Here we report the discovery of HIV-1 group O-like viruses in wild gorillas.
Assuntos
Animais Selvagens/virologia , Gorilla gorilla/virologia , Síndrome de Imunodeficiência Adquirida dos Símios/virologia , Vírus da Imunodeficiência Símia/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Camarões/epidemiologia , Fezes/virologia , Gorilla gorilla/classificação , Humanos , Pan troglodytes/virologia , Síndrome de Imunodeficiência Adquirida dos Símios/epidemiologia , Síndrome de Imunodeficiência Adquirida dos Símios/transmissão , Vírus da Imunodeficiência Símia/classificação , Zoonoses/transmissão , Zoonoses/virologiaRESUMO
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the cause of human acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), is a zoonotic infection of staggering proportions and social impact. Yet uncertainty persists regarding its natural reservoir. The virus most closely related to HIV-1 is a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) thus far identified only in captive members of the chimpanzee subspecies Pan troglodytes troglodytes. Here we report the detection of SIVcpz antibodies and nucleic acids in fecal samples from wild-living P. t. troglodytes apes in southern Cameroon, where prevalence rates in some communities reached 29 to 35%. By sequence analysis of endemic SIVcpz strains, we could trace the origins of pandemic (group M) and nonpandemic (group N) HIV-1 to distinct, geographically isolated chimpanzee communities. These findings establish P. t. troglodytes as a natural reservoir of HIV-1.