Simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV) are retroviruses that are found in over 40 African primates.
Viruses from two of these primate species, SIVsmm in Sooty Mangabeys and SIVcpz in chimpanzees, are believed to have crossed the species barrier into humans, resulting in HIV-2 and HIV-1, respectively. The most likely route of transmission of HIV-1 to humans involves contact with the blood of chimps that are often hunted for bushmeat in Africa.
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Simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIV) are retroviruses that are found in over 40 African primates.
Viruses from two of these primate species, SIVsmm in Sooty Mangabeys and SIVcpz in chimpanzees, are believed to have crossed the species barrier into humans, resulting in HIV-2 and HIV-1, respectively. The most likely route of transmission of HIV-1 to humans involves contact with the blood of chimps that are often hunted for bushmeat in Africa.
Unlike HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections in humans, SIV infections in their natural hosts are widely believed to be non-pathogenic. Extensive studies in Sooty Mangabeys have established that SIVsmm infection does not cause any disease in these animals, despite high levels of circulating virus. However, if this virus is used to infect an Asian Rhesus Macaque, the animal will develop simian AIDS.
A recent study of SIVcpz in wild living chimpanzees suggests that infected chimpanzees experience an AIDS-like illness similar to HIV-1 infected humans.
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