Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
United Press International; Tuesday February 3 1:43 PM EST
Ed Susman, UPI Science News
Researchers from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City analyzed the genetic code of a blood sample preserved for nearly 40 years and determined that the strain of HIV in that sample is close to the original strain of infection.
Dr. David Ho, of the Rockefeller University-affiliated treatment center, says the discovery that the 1959 HIV strain seems to be the origin of major strains of the virus in the world today, authenticates the case as the oldest known HIV infection.
The researchers presented their findings today at the 5th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Chicago.
Dr. Douglas Richman of the University of California at San Diego, and scientific program chairman of the conference, tells United Press International, "The finding of Dr. Ho's group is significant because it tells us that AIDS emerged in Africa, that it is a relatively recent infection, and most likely crossed to humans by infections from primates.
Toufo Zhu ("TOH-FOH"), University of Washington, Seattle, lead author of the study, to be published Thursday in the journal Nature, says the virus that infected the African man probably only existed a few years before 1959. Some theories had suggested that AIDS has been around for generations, just not perceived as a distinct disease until recently. Other researchers said the finding that the ancestor of today's infections occurred in 1959 might put to bed conspiracy theories that have achieved high credence in some circles. In 1959, the technology to create viruses was rudimentary or non-existant.
The strain tested by Ho had previously been determined to contain HIV. It was taken from an adult Bantu male.
Ho and colleagues determined the genetic sequencing of the strain by amplifying copies of surviving fragments of the virus with biotechnology tools. Then they compared their strain to others.
Ho says, "Perhaps all major group viruses may have evolved from a single introduction into the African population not long before 1959."
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