French scientists have identified a new strain of HIV, which appears to have evolved in gorillas before crossing the species divide.
The virus has a distinct lineage from other HIV strains – notably the one chiefly responsible for the current AIDS pandemic, which is thought to have reached humans from chimpanzees. The researchers, who found the virus in a 62-year-old Cameroonian woman living in Paris, propose calling the new strain HIV-1 group P.
The virus has a distinct lineage from other HIV strains – notably the one chiefly responsible for the current AIDS pandemic, which is thought to have reached humans from chimpanzees. The researchers, who found the virus in a 62-year-old Cameroonian woman living in Paris, propose calling the new strain HIV-1 group P.
“The discovery of this novel HIV-1 lineage highlights the continuing need to watch closely for the emergence of new HIV variants, particularly in western central Africa, the origin of all existing HIV-1 groups,” they wrote.
[Nat Med 2009 Aug;15(8):871-2]
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