New HIV strain from gorillas

For the first time, gorillas have been proven to be a source of HIV in humans, researchers have claimed.

A woman from Cameroon living in France has been diagnosed with an HIV infection that is linked to a gorilla strain, experts from France and the UK wrote in the journal Nature Medicine.

Previously, the HIV-1 strain, which is the main source of infections in humans, had always originated from chimpanzees.

Dr David Robertson, a co-author of the study from the University of Manchester, called for the emergence of any new strains to be monitored closely.

"This demonstrates that HIV evolution is an ongoing process," he commented.

"The virus can jump from species to species, from primate to primate, and that includes us; pathogens have been with us for millions of years and routinely switch host species."

Aids was originally discovered in 1984 and there are now approximately 33 million cases of the virus around the globe.

News brought to you by Global Health TV, connecting health communities