Transmission of Simian Foamy Virus from Primates in the Wild

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International Society for Infectious Diseases

<http://www.isid.org>

 

Fri 19 Mar 2004

A-Lan Banks <A-Lan.Banks

Source: The Times newspaper, UK, Fri 19 Mar 2004 [edited]

<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8122-1043946,00.html>

 

 

Cameroon: Transmission of Simian Foamy Virus from Primates in the Wild

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Simian foamy virus (SFV) is endemic in the gorillas and monkeys that

villagers in Cameroon hunt for bushmeat. SFV is endemic in African

apes and monkeys, although so far there is no evidence that it does

them -- or human beings -- any harm. But virologists are alarmed by

the presence of the virus in human beings, because human

immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is thought to have crossed over from

apes through consumption of bushmeat at least 2 decades before it

became pandemic. [simian foamy virus is a retrovirus now classified

in the genus _Spumavirus_ of the family _Retroviridae_, which

contrary to statements in the " Times " article, is phylogenetically

quite distinct from the human and simian immunodeficiency viruses. -

Mod.CP]

 

A joint US and Cameroonian team led by Nathan Wolfe found that SFV

was infecting people in Cameroon from at least 3 different hosts:

gorillas and 2 monkey species, mandrills and guenons. Like HIV, SFV

is a retrovirus, a type that is particularly worrying because it can

inject its own genetic material into the DNA of the cells that it

infects, making it impossible to eradicate. " Our study is the first

to demonstrate that these retroviruses are actively crossing into

people, " Dr Wolfe said. " It is in all our interests to put into

place economic alternatives to help people move away from hunting and

eating these animals. In addition to preserving endangered species,

such development efforts will reduce the risk that ongoing

cross-species transmission of retroviruses and other pathogens could

spark future epidemics similar to HIV. "

 

Dr Wolfe and his colleagues examined blood samples in different parts

of Cameroon from almost 1100 people who were taking part in an

HIV-prevention programme. All said that they had had some contact

with monkey and ape blood through hunting and butchering them.

Antibodies to SFV were found in 10 people, 1 percent of the sample,

showing that they had been exposed to SFV. More detailed analysis of

samples from 3 people confirmed the presence of the DNA of the simian

virus, and the team reports in The Lancet [see below] that it was

able to match the viral DNA to that found in gorillas, mandrills, and

guenons. Mandrills are the largest of the monkeys, while the closest

match among the guenons was with a monkey called Dr Brazza's guenon,

which can weigh up to 7 kg (15.4 lb).

 

Each of the 3 people came from different villages in the lowland

forest of southern Cameroon, an area where there are many different

species of primates and the place where HIV is believed to have first

jumped from monkeys into man. One of the 3, a 45-year-old man, said

that he butchered and ate monkey, chimpanzee, and gorilla and

regularly hunted them using guns, bows, and wire snares. The other 2,

a 48-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man, told similar stories. None

appeared unwell. In the past, zoo keepers and those who look after

monkeys have occasionally been infected with SFV, but there has never

been any evidence that this has led to disease. But the fact that

such infections are occurring regularly, from a range of hosts,

raises the risk of another HIV epidemic in the making.

 

SFV is so-called because [unlike other retroviruses] it causes cells

to clump together [form syncytia] and look, on a slide, like foamy

bubbles. [similar foamy viruses of other species were initially

called syncytium-forming viruses, and found as occasional

contaminants of primary cell cultures. - Mod.CP] SFV has been called

" a virus in search of a disease " and has been tentatively linked to

several diseases but without any real evidence. In 1998, Walid

Heneine and colleagues at the US Centres for Disease Control and

Prevention in Atlanta tested the blood of 231 lab workers who handled

monkeys and found that 4 had become infected with SFV. [Evidence of

SFV infection included seropositivity, proviral DNA detection, and

isolation of syncytium-producing virus. - Mod.CP] Dr Heneine, who

also took part in the new research, said that one man had been

infected for 20 years and another for 9 without apparent damage. " Any

time you find a transfer of a retrovirus it raises a lot of concern, "

he said. " But despite long durations of infections, they are still

very healthy and there is no history of disease. "

 

In a commentary in The Lancet, Martine Peeters, of the Institute of

Research for Development in Montpellier, France, said it was not

impossible that foamy viruses might cause disease in human beings

after a long incubation period. She said the next step was to see if

human-to-human transmission was occurring in Africa, whether there

were clusters of infection, and whether infection could be linked to

any disease. Dr Peeters said: " Human infection with simian

retroviruses, which have a long incubation period, might spread

unrecognised for several years and lead to a disease epidemic. "

 

[byline: Nigel Hawkes]

 

--

A-Lan Banks

<A-Lan.Banks

 

[spumaviruses (foamy viruses) are complex retroviruses which are

widespread in many species of mammals. Spumaviruses are harboured by

domestic cats, cattle, and other animals in close contact with

humans, but have not been associated so far with any disease state in

any host. These viruses appear to be ubiquitous in all nonhuman

primates, but only to be present in humans as rare zoonotic

transmissions as described in the above report. The replication of

foamy viruses differs from the standard retrovirus pattern in several

important respects, and this sets the spumaviruses apart from the

more familiar oncogenic and immunodeficiency retroviruses. In

particular, there are 2 transcription start sites in the genome, the

polymerase (transcriptase) protein is expressed from a spliced

subgenomic mRNA, and reverse-transcribed DNA is present in large

amount in the extracellular virion. Infection of natural hosts by

spumaviruses leads to a lifelong persistent infection, without any

evidence of pathology. In general there is no epidemiological

evidence of spumavirus pathogenicity in natural, experimental, or

zoonotic infections. This should be kept in mind to put the research

described in the Lancet paper in its proper context.

 

The Lancet paper (Volume 363, Number 9413, 932-37, Sat 20 Mar 2004),

on which the Times newspaper article is based, is entitled:

" Naturally acquired simian retrovirus infections in central African

hunters " , by Nathan D Wolfe, William M Switzer, Jean K Carr, Vinod B

Bhullar, Vedapuri Shanmugam, Ubald Tamoufe, A Tassy Prosser, Judith N

Torimiro, Anthony Wright, Eitel Mpoudi-Ngole, Francine E McCutchan,

Deborah L Birx, Thomas M Folks, Donald S Burke, and Walid Heneine.

<http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol363/iss9413/full/llan.363.9413.original_res\

earch.29038.1>

 

The Abstract is as follows:

 

" Hunting and butchering of wild non-human primates infected with

simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) is thought to have sparked the

HIV pandemic. Although SIV and other primate retroviruses infect

laboratory workers and zoo workers, zoonotic retrovirus transmission

has not been documented in natural settings.

 

We investigated zoonotic infection in individuals living in central

Africa. We obtained behavioural data, plasma samples, and peripheral

blood lymphocytes from individuals living in rural villages in

Cameroon. We did serological testing, PCR, and sequence analysis to

obtain evidence of retrovirus infection.

 

Zoonotic infections with simian foamy virus (SFV), a retrovirus

endemic in most Old World primates, were identified in people living

in central African forests who reported direct contact with blood and

body fluids of wild non-human primates. 10 (1 percent) of 1099

individuals had antibodies to SFV. Sequence analysis from these

individuals revealed 3 geographically-independent human SFV

infections, each of which was acquired from a distinct non-human

primate lineage: De Brazza's guenon (_Cercopithecus neglectus_),

mandrill (_Mandrillus sphinx_), and gorilla (_Gorilla gorilla_), 2 of

which (De Brazza's guenon and mandrill) are naturally infected with

SIV.

 

Our findings show that retroviruses are actively crossing into human

populations, and demonstrate that people in central Africa are

currently infected with SFV. Contact with non-human primates, such as

happens during hunting and butchering, can play a part in the

emergence of human retroviruses, and the reduction of primate

bushmeat hunting has the potential to decrease the frequency of

disease emergence. "

 

Other human populations have been screened for evidence of natural

spumavirus infection with no positive outcome. This investigation has

succeeded by targeting individuals reporting contact with non-human

primates in the wild. However, whether cross-species transmission

(either by contact with primates in the wild or consumption of

bushmeat) will alter the apathogenic nature of spumavirus infection

remains an open question. - Mod.CP]

 

[see also:

2001

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Simian foamy virus, humans - Canada 20010630.1245

1999

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Xenotransplant, baboon viruses infect humans (02) 19991001.1758

1998

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Xenotransplantation, theoretical risks (07) 19981130.2306

Xenotransplantation, theoretical risks (05) 19981126.2282

1997

----

Simian viruses infect animal handlers - USA 19970214.0374

MMWR Contents, Feb 14, 1997 19970214.0372

1996

----

FIV in African lions (02) 19961027.1822

Baboon transplant risks 19950222.0070]

 

 

 

Karl Theis Jr

Medical Science Reporter

www.RealityExpander.com Ch.10 TimeWarner

Austin,Texas cell 512 297-9875

http://groups.msn.com/exposureofthetruth

 

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