title: AIDS as a zoonosis: scientific and public health implications.
abstract: Evidence of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection has been reported for 26 different species of African nonhuman primates. Two of these viruses, SIVcpz from chimpanzees and SIVsm from sooty mangabeys, are the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in humans. Together, they have been transmitted to humans on at least seven occasions. The implications of human infection by a diverse set of SIVs and of exposure to a plethora of additional human immunodeficiency virus-related viruses are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA. bhahn@uab.edu
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: De Cock
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Sharp
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D000354:Africa, Western / Q000453:epidemiology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics; D015498:HIV-2 / Q000235:genetics; D000882:Haplorhini / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011634:Public Health; D016097:Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000821:virology; D015302:Simian Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000635:transmission*