Origin of HIV

Discussion in 'Biology & Genetics' started by Kadark, Jan 29, 2008.

  1. Kadark Banned Banned

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    What is the origin of HIV? Is it a known fact, or are there still discrepancies between theories?

    I'm curious, because I've heard many bizarre reasons as to its upbringing: homosexuals, beastiality, genetically modified by US government, etc. Wikipedia says contact between humans and primates - this could validate the theory of beastiality, right?
     
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  3. draqon Banned Banned

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    as far as I know it came from primates in Africa...from one case actually...
     
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  5. Kadark Banned Banned

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    So, in other words, you're saying HIV originated from someone in Africa who get their freak on with a monkey?
     
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  7. draqon Banned Banned

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    yes that is exactly what I am saying ... I mean it could have been a blood scratch each other thing...but lets face it...

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  8. Kadark Banned Banned

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    I see. Does that mean modern day beastiality possesses the ability to create more epidemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS?
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2008
  9. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    You really think that???????

    Blood to blood contact is what would have passed it on. There could always be the possability of insect transfer though i have never herd of it though.
     
  10. Kadark Banned Banned

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    I don't really think anything about this topic- I'm the one asking the questions.

    I do value draqon's input, though, because he is very intelligent.
     
  11. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    Moderator Note:

    Please provide some evidentiary line of thinking in B&G.

    PM me if you think this thread should be reopened.

    edit: The OP is agitated, so I will give this thread one more chance.

    But keep it science.
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2008
  12. Kadark Banned Banned

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    Damn straight.

    Carry on.
     
  13. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    ok i was in the prosses of posting this when sam shut the thread so here it is (god im glad i didnt lose it)

    sorry i should have been more clear, I was aiming it at dragon. The chances it was beastality is VERY slim. For starters if you look at other diease progression amongst animals there are VERY few (i can only think of one infact) animals that have sex with those not of there own specise. So how did BSE transfer from chickens to sheep to cows? Food surply. Poachers with a scratch is a more likly infection track. Or animal atacks and as i said although i have never herd of it transmiting by insect there is always the possability of transfer by blood sucking insects
     
  14. Kadark Banned Banned

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    Well, here is the most widely accepted theory (wiki):

    The most widely accepted theory is the so called 'Hunter' Theory according to which transference from ape to human most likely occurred when a human was bitten by an ape or was cut while butchering one, and the human became infected.[2] Researchers announced in May 2006 that HIV most likely originated in wild chimpanzees in the southeastern rain forests of Cameroon (modern East Province) [3] [4] rather than in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), as had previously been believed. Seven years of research and 1,300 chimpanzee genetic samples led Dr. Beatrice Hahn of the University of Alabama, Birmingham, to identify chimpanzee communities near Cameroon's Sanaga River as the most likely originators. [5]

    Calculating based on a fixed mutation rate, the jump from chimpanzee to human likely occurred during the French colonial period (1919–1960).[citation needed] Comparative primatologist Jim Moore suggests that this may have been the result of colonial practices of forced labour, which could have suppressed the immune system of the initial hunter enough to allow the virus to infect and take hold. Likewise, using one needle on many patients for forced immunisations for illnesses such as sleeping sickness may have sped the virus's initial spread through Cameroon. Needles were also shared in the booming colonial city of Kinshasa, where the virus spread.[6]

    An elaboration on the "Hunter" theory hypothesises that colonial practices such as labor camps and non-sterile vaccination campaigns, with other technological and social disruptions, to the food supply in particular, promoted the cross-over from chimpanzees and the spread amongst humans.


    So, according to this, a hunter was bitten by an ape, or was cut when butchering one, which initiated the infection.
     
  15. Kadark Banned Banned

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    What I don't understand is this: they say the animal-to-human transition of the disease occurred any time from the early 1900s all the way up to 1960. Is it believable that one infected person in a remote African village could spread his or her newly acquired disease so rapidly and to such large distances within two decades (recognized in 1981)? Seems unlikely.
     
  16. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    all infections start with a case zero
     
  17. Kadark Banned Banned

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    Yeah, but I don't think any disease has caused more destruction in such a short time. Is it plausible for a single case in a remote location to reach such a wide variety of people worldwide within two decades?
     
  18. draqon Banned Banned

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    yes it was one dude...he decided to do it...
     
  19. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    ignoring dragon, think about pandemic flu in the 60's. How many did that kill in such a short time. What about the black death?
     
  20. Kadark Banned Banned

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    Yeah, but AIDS needs (almost all of the time) sexual intercourse to spread. This would definitely slow down its growth, whereas other pandemics may be spread from coughing/drinking from the same cup.
     
  21. draqon Banned Banned

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  22. draqon Banned Banned

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  23. draqon Banned Banned

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    anyways HIV came from SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) strain found in monkeys in W. Africa...

    The following chart actually tracks the relative viruses family tree

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