The Origin of HIV Neelam Rani, Vijaya Alla
What is HIV? Group: Group VI (ssRNA) Family: Retroviridae Genus: Lentivirus Species: HIV-1, HIV-2
Virus Structure Enveloped Two copies of ssRNA Reverse transcriptase Bullet-shaped capsid 72 spikes Only 9 genes
LifeCycle
What is SIV? Retrovirus that infects primates Virus is transmitted sexually It does not cause disease in natural host May cause SAIDS in non-natural hosts
Relationship: HIV & SIV HIV-1 evolved from SIVcpz found in a chimpanzee subspecies Pan troglodyte troglodyte HIV-2, the less virulent form, evolved from SIVsm found in sooty mangabeys
Theories on Origin Hunter Theory Contaminated Needle Theory OPV Theory Colonial Theory
Earliest Cases adult male in Congo teenager in St.Louis sailor in Norway
Causes Travel Travel Blood Industry Blood Industry Drug Use Drug Use Intercourse Intercourse Birth Birth
HIV’s Progression to AIDS Stage I - asympotomatic Stage II - mucocutaneous maifestations, URI Stage III - chronic diarrhea, severe bacterial infections, pulmonary TB Stage IV - taxoplasmosis of brain, candidiasis of esophagus,trachea, lungs and kaposi’s sarcoma
Geography Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Caribbean are the hardest hit WHO estimates million are infected with HIV as of Dec 2004
Medications No cure No cure No vaccine No vaccine HAART “cocktail” - contains protease inhibitors and two reverse transcriptase inhibitors HAART “cocktail” - contains protease inhibitors and two reverse transcriptase inhibitors Antisense therapy – fragment of DNA that binds to viral mRNA to prevent translation Antisense therapy – fragment of DNA that binds to viral mRNA to prevent translation
References Simian_immunodeficiency_virus Simian_immunodeficiency_virus AIDS AIDS _aids.html 499_aids.html