HIV virus emerged more than 75 years before AIDS epidemic

The HIV virus that causes AIDS was first thought to have emerged in the 1930s, but recent research indicates that the virus may be older:

Scientists trace AIDS virus origin to 100 years ago

NEW YORK (AP) — The AIDS virus has been circulating among people for about 100 years, decades longer than scientists had thought, a new study suggests.

Genetic analysis pushes the estimated origin of HIV back to between 1884 and 1924, with a more focused estimate at 1908.

Previously, scientists had estimated the origin at around 1930. AIDS wasn’t recognized formally until 1981 when it got the attention of public health officials in the United States.

The new result is “not a monumental shift, but it means the virus was circulating under our radar even longer than we knew,” says Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona, an author of the new work.

The results appear in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature. Researchers note that the newly calculated dates fall during the rise of cities in Africa, and they suggest urban development may have promoted HIV’s initial establishment and early spread.

The lag between when the virus first took virulent form and when it spread widely enough for us to recognize it shows that the concern over the bird flu and other potentially dangerous viruses is not as overblown as it may appear to the impatient.

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[...] HIV virus emerged more than 75 years before AIDS epidemic By Jack Grant The HIV virus that causes AIDS was first thought to have emerged in the 1930s, but recent research indicates that the virus may be older: Scientists trace AIDS virus origin to 100 years ago NEW YORK (AP) ? The AIDS virus has been … Random Fate - http://www.randomfate.net/MT [...]

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