AIDS Researchers Find Missing Link

AIDS Researchers Find Missing Link

UAB researchers have discovered a wild chimpanzee with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) in Africa, according to a study published in the Jan. 18 issue of Science. SIV, which is closely related to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS in humans, does not cause illness in infected chimpanzees. "The finding is important because it will allow us to explore the history and behavior of SIV in its natural host and to begin to unravel how and why the virus jumped to humans," says Beatrice Hahn, M.D., professor of medicine at UAB. Using urine and fecal samples to non-invasively gather information, researchers learned that while the infection is not widespread, it does span much of the region inhabited by chimpanzees.

Contact Joy Carter, Media Relations, 205-934-1676, or [email protected]

###