title: Origin of AIDS: contaminated polio vaccine theory refuted.
abstract: Despite strong evidence to the contrary, speculation continues that the AIDS virus, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), may have crossed into humans as a result of contamination of the oral polio vaccine (OPV). This 'OPV/AIDS theory' claims that chimpanzees from the vicinity of Stanleyville--now Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo--were the source of a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVcpz) that was transmitted to humans when chimpanzee tissues were allegedly used in the preparation of OPV. Here we show that SIVcpz is indeed endemic in wild chimpanzees of this region but that the circulating virus is phylogenetically distinct from all strains of HIV-1, providing direct evidence that these chimpanzees were not the source of the human AIDS pandemic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. worobey@email.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Worobey
authors.forename: Mario L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Santiago
authors.forename: Brandon F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Keele
authors.forename: Jean-Bosco N
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Ndjango
authors.forename: Jeffrey B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Joy
authors.forename: Bernard L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Labama
authors.forename: Benoît D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Dhed'A
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rambaut
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: George M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Beatrice H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Hahn
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000821:virology*; D000354:Africa, Western; D000818:Animals; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000145:classification / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D011055:Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000235:genetics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015302:Simian Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D011055:Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral