HIV in Chimpanzees

Origin of HIV-1 Discovered in Chimpanzees

Background: On January 31, 1999, scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) announced their discovery that the origin of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) originated in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes). A paper detailing the discovery appears in the February 4, 1999 issue of the journal Nature.
Although scientists had long suspected a virus from African primates to be the cause of human AIDS they were unable to identify the specific species until now. The scientist behind the discovery, Dr. Beatrice Hahn from UAB, has emphasized the conservation angle of this breakthrough finding. "We cannot afford to lose these animals, either from an animal conservation or a medical investigative standpoint," she said. "It is quite possible that the chimpanzee, which has served as a source of HIV-1, also holds the clues to its successful control." Dr. Hahn and her colleagues hope that as a consequence of their research, there will be additional measures taken to discourage chimpanzee poaching and to preserve this and other endangered primate species.

Jane Goodall's Response

Summary Statement: This significant discovery not only represents another milestone along the path to finding a solution to the AIDS epidemic but focuses our attention on the enormous importance of protecting the people, the chimpanzees, and the forests in the Congo Basin. For only if we can ensure the survival of the chimpanzees and their forests can we identify the remaining pieces of this complicated puzzle.

Overview: Dr. Hahn's discovery that HIV-1 originated with Africa's wild chimpanzees is an important milestone in the world's efforts to find a vaccine for this devastating disease. Because of this finding, we now know that the remaining pieces to this complicated puzzle lie within the wilds of Africa. But to find these pieces we must protect the forests, the people, and the chimpanzees and other animals who live there. If these wild chimpanzees disappear, so too will the pieces to the AIDS puzzle. Only if we work together to preserve the wild chimpanzee populations can scientists like Dr. Hahn study the way in which chimps have adapted to the virus, leading to new ways to treat the disease in humans. Only if we keep the chimpanzees in their natural setting can we learn how the virus transfers from one chimpanzee to another. And only if the chimpanzees continue to live freely in the forests can we learn about new strains of the virus that have yet to affect the human race. If the chimpanzees are removed from their natural habitat, these pieces of the puzzle will be gone forever. Commercial logging, hunting for bushmeat, and the illegal pet trade have pushed the chimpanzees to the brink of extinction.

Conservation organizations like the Jane Goodall Institute are already working to fight deforestation and poaching in the Congo Basin. At the turn of the century, between one and two million chimpanzees roamed Africa — from the West Coast across the central equatorial forest belt to the western part of Tanzania. Today, fewer than 150,000 chimpanzees remain in fragmented populations across the continent. Through reforestation, education and micro-enterprise projects, we provide alternate means of survival for people who live on the margins of the chimpanzee forest habitat while raising an awareness about the surrounding environment and wildlife. With the discovery of cross-species transmission of HIV-1, our efforts to save the chimpanzees from extinction and to curb the hunting and eating of chimpanzee meat become that much more critical.

I applaud the manner in which Dr. Hahn has approached this delicate issue. By promoting humane and noninvasive research of the wild chimpanzees and discouraging continued poaching and logging, she has taken into consideration not only the needs of the people at risk and the larger implications of this discovery, but also the endangered status of the wild chimpanzee populations.