HIV passed on to humans by gorillas

Uganda News.Net
Monday 3rd August, 2009

A new strain of HIV, passed on by animals, has been discovered by French and English scientists.

The new strain is transmitted to humans from gorillas.

The researchers discovered the HIV subtype in a 62-year-old Cameroon woman, who was diagnosed with the virus in 2004.

Before moving to Paris, the woman had lived in an area of Cameroon where she would not normally have had contact with fresh bush meat, which is the normal means of transmission.

The woman has reported she never ate bush meat, causing doctors to believe it is not a direct transmission from gorillas but a rare HIV subtype.

Until now, all strains of HIV1, the main virus that causes AIDS, have been linked to African bush meat, which has included the flesh of gorillas and chimpanzees.

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