Chimps lead way to HIV birthplace
By Eric Jaffe
The global AIDS epidemic originated in chimpanzees living in southeastern Cameroon, a viral analysis confirms.
An international team of scientists analyzed 599 fecal specimens from 10 forest sites in Cameroon and found evidence of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), the direct precursor of the AIDS virus, HIV-1.
In 1999, Beatrice Hahn of the University of Alabama at Birmingham detected SIV in caged chimpanzees from western Africa (SN: 2/6/99, p. 84) but didn’t pinpoint the virus’ wild habitat. Her group’s new study, which will be published in the July 28 Science, finally does that.