Spread of HIV began decades earlier than once thought, a new study finds, from online news brief update October 2008 #1 Options

[Root Admin]

Researchers at the University of Arizona in Tucson recently found that the strain of HIV that is most prevalent around the globe began spreading in humans in sub-Saharan Africa somewhere between 1884 and 1924, decades earlier than a previous estimate of 1930.

For the study, which is published in the current issue of Nature, researchers used a 1960 sample of preserved, HIV-infected lymph-node tissue from a woman who lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The used the HIV-1 group M genetic sequence, and other HIV-1 genetic sequences, to construct a family tree of the origin of the viral strain. From this, they were able to estimate the time of origin of HIV-1 group M.

Lead researcher Michael Worobey believes that there is a direct correlation between the start of the epidemic and the urbanization of colonial Africa, according to HealthDay news. The spread of HIV may have been instigated by the rapid growth of cities during this period, coupled with associated high-risk behaviors.

“I think the picture that has emerged here, where changes the human population experienced may have opened the door to the spread of HIV, is a good reminder that we can make changes now that could help reverse the epidemic,” said Worobey.

These findings give him hope that the virus will one day become extinct.