Editor's Summary
2 October 2008
HIV/AIDS then and now
A histological specimen from the University of Kinshasa archives has been used to obtain HIV gene sequences dating back to the pre-AIDS era. From a lymph node biopsy taken in 1960 from an adult female in Léopoldville in the Belgian Congo (now Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo), sample 'DRC60' makes possible the first evolutionary analysis of pre-AIDS 'fossil' HIV-1 sequences, via comparison with the one other viral sequence from the period, from a plasma sample taken in 1959, also in Kinshasa. The analysis supports the idea that diversification of HIV-1 in west-central Africa occurred long before the recognized AIDS pandemic. Almost fifty years on, a major concern in HIV epidemiology is China. Here, HIV-1 infection was largely confined to high-risk groups but it is now breaking out into the general population. Lin Lu et al. report on efforts to contain the epidemic in Yunnan Province, where there has been a dramatic increase in sexual transmission of HIV.
News and Views: AIDS: Prehistory of HIV-1
The origin of the current AIDS pandemic has been a subject of great interest and speculation. Viral archaeology sheds light on the geography and timescale of the early diversification of HIV-1 in humans.
Paul M. Sharp & Beatrice H. Hahn
doi:10.1038/455605a
Feature: The changing face of HIV in China
HIV has advanced from high-risk groups such as intravenous drug users to some in the general population, according to comprehensive new data from the south of China. What needs to be done to halt its spread?
Lin Lu, Manhong Jia, Yanling Ma, Li Yang, Zhiwei Chen, David D. Ho, Yan Jiang & Linqi Zhang
doi:10.1038/455609a
Letter: Direct evidence of extensive diversity of HIV-1 in Kinshasa by 1960
Michael Worobey, Marlea Gemmel, Dirk E. Teuwen, Tamara Haselkorn, Kevin Kunstman, Michael Bunce, Jean-Jacques Muyembe, Jean-Marie M. Kabongo, Raphaël M. Kalengayi, Eric Van Marck, M. Thomas P. Gilbert & Steven M. Wolinsky
doi:10.1038/nature07390
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (348K) | Supplementary information
