kgdykes@watbun.UUCP (04/16/85)
(Partially reprinted without permission...)
BOSTON (AP) - A virus almost identical to the germ generally thought
to cause AIDS had been found in monkeys, and some scientists believe
it will provide an important new tool for developing a vaccine to
control the epidemic of the fatal disease.
The latest discover also supports a theory that AIDS - Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome - began as a disease of monkeys and only
recently spread to people.
Scientists at the New England Regional Primate Centre identified
the virus in macaque monkeys. The animals were afflicted with
monkey AIDS, a disease that mirrors AIDS in people.
American experts believe that human AIDS is caused by a virus called
HTLV-III, for Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus type three, and they've
named the new monkey virus STLV-III, for simians.
"Clearly we have, for the first time, a virus that looks and acts
like HTLV-III, than clearly can infect and be isolated from animals
other than humans," said Dr. Norman Letvin of the primate centre.
Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health have discovered
that the monkey AIDS virus appears to be common among a species called
the African green monkey that lives in central Africa.
"We hypothesize that the African greens gave the virus to people
in the region where the disease originated," probably within the last
10 to 50 years, said Dr. Max Essex, an AIDS researcher at Harvard.
Although STLV-III is fatal to macaque monkeys, it apparently is not
dangerous to the African green monkeys, which are a separate species.
About 70 per cent of the green monkeys tested showed evidence in their
blood of exposure to the virus, yet they were healthy.
"They have clearly evolved to control the virus so it doesn't kill
them," said Essex. "The mechanism that they've evolved will probably
be an important clue to understanding vaccine development."...
[Clearly the<>kgdykes@watbun.UUCP (04/16/85)
BOSTON (AP) - A virus almost identical to the germ generally thought
to cause AIDS has been found in monkeys, and some scientists believe
it will provide an important new tool for developing a vaccine...
The latest discovery also supports a theory that AIDS...
... began as a disease of monkeys and only recently spread to people.
Scientists at the New England Regional Primate Centre identified
the virus in macaque monkeys. The animals were afflicted with
monkey AIDS, a disease that mirrors AIDS in people.
American experts believe that human AIDS is caused by a virus called
HTLV-III, for Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus type three, and they've
named the new monkey virus STLV-III, for simians.
"Clearly we have, for the first time, a virus that looks and acts
like HTLV-III, that clearly can infect and be isolated from animals
other than humans," said Dr. Norman Letvin of the primate centre.
Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health have discovered
that the monkey AIDS virus appears to be common among a species called
the African green monkey that lives in central Africa.
"We hypothesize that the African greens gave the virus to people
in the region where the disease originated,"...
... said Dr. Max Essex, an AIDS researcher at Harvard.
Although STLV-III is fatal to macaque monkeys, it apparently is not
dangerous to the African green monkeys, which are a separate species.
About 70% of the green monkeys tested showed evidence in their
blood of exposure to the virus, yet they were healthy.
"They have clearly evolved to control the virus so it doesn't kill
them," said Essex. "The mechanism that they've evolved will probably
be an important clue to understanding vaccine development."...
- Ken Dykes
Software Development Group, U. of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. N2L 3G1
{clyde,utzoo}!watmath!water!watbun!kgdykes