Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - November 9, 2006
And since the animals are still hunted for food and medicinal uses, the researchers say it's possible those practices might pose a risk to humans.
Martine Peeters and colleagues at the University of Montpellier analyzed hundreds of fecal samples taken from chimpanzees and gorillas living in remote forest regions of Cameroon. Samples from both species contained antibodies that were reactive against HIV-1, but RNA analysis indicated the gorillas were infected with a different strain of SIV that is closely related to an HIV-1 lineage found in humans in west central Africa.
Because the gorillas live nearly 250 miles apart, the scientists say it is likely SIV infection is endemic in gorillas, as it is in chimpanzees. And the authors suspect chimpanzees were the original reservoir of immunodeficiency viruses now found in chimpanzees, gorillas and humans.
The survey focused on the western species of gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), so it's not yet known whether SIV is prevalent in the eastern species (Gorilla beringei).
The study appears as a brief communication in the current issue of the journal Nature.
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