Simian foamy virus
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The simian foamy virus (SFV) is a spumavirus closely related to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Its discovery in primates has led to some speculation that HIV may have been spread to the human species in Africa through contact with blood from apes and monkeys through hunting bushmeat.

Description

The simian foamy virus is endemic in African apes and monkeys; there is no evidence so far that it does them any harm. Its ability to cross over to humans was proven in 2004 by a joint United States and Cameroonian team which found the retrovirus in gorillas, mandrills and guenons; unexpectedly they also found it in 10 of 1,100 local Cameroon residents. Of those found infected the majority are males who had been bitten by a non-human primate.

While this only accounts for 1% of the population, this detail is alarming to some groups^who? that fear the outbreak of another AIDS-like epidemic.

SFV causes cells to fuse with each other to form so called syncythia, or more figurative, "giant cells" and look, on a slide, like foamy bubbles, hence its name. It has been tentatively linked to several diseases but without any real evidence.

Prevalence

Researchers in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, France, Gabon, Germany, Japan, Rwanda, the United Kingdom, and the United States have found that simian foamy virus (SFV) is widespread among wild chimpanzees throughout equatorial Africa. Details are published July 4th in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens.

Recent studies have shown that humans who hunt wild primates, including chimpanzees, can acquire SFV infections. Since the long-term consequences of these cross-species infections are not known, it is important to determine to what extent wild primates are infected with simian foamy viruses. In this study, researchers tested this question for wild chimpanzees by using novel non-invasive methods. Analyzing over 700 fecal samples from 25 chimpanzee communities across sub-Saharan Africa, the researchers obtained viral sequences from a large proportion of these communities, showing a range of infection rates from 44% to 100%.

Major disease outbreaks have originated from cross-species transmission of infectious agents between primates and humans, making it important to learn more about how these cross-species transfers occur. The high SFV infection rates of chimpanzees provide an opportunity to monitor where humans are exposed to these viruses. Identifying the locations may help determine where the highest rates of human–chimpanzee interactions occur. This may predict what other pathogens may jump the species barrier next.

External links

• Public Health Agency of Canada
• U.S. FDA Blood Products Advisory Committee Meeting, December 13-December 14, 2001
• MeSH Simian+foamy+virus

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