The scientific community is in turmoil. On Friday September 30, 2022, American researchers from the University of Colorado published a disturbing discovery. A deadly virus for monkeys could well become deadly for humans…
Still today, there is unfortunately no cure for HIV. However, hope is always allowed. There are some nice stories, like this woman cured of HIV after an umbilical cord transplant. A treatment that is certainly surprising, but which has proven itself in the fight against AIDS. At the same time, a new treatment discovered this summer also aroused great hope among scientists. Several researchers have conducted a study to try to get rid of HIV with just one injection
A virus that can be transmitted to humans
Research is evolving… and with it, the discovery of new diseases. And fear of new Covid discovered in Russia alerts researchers, it is indeed a completely different virus which also worries part of the scientific community. The news comes to us from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Our colleagues from The Independent report that American scientists have discovered “an obscure family of viruses, already endemic in wild African primates“.
The results of this study were first published online, Friday, September 30, 2022, in the journal Cell. The researchers explain that this virus could cause deadly Ebola-like symptoms in some monkeys. If this news is serious for us, it is because this virus would be “about to spread“to humans.
“Primate hemorrhagic fever-causing arteriviruses are poised for spillover to humans”@Sara_Sawyer_, @NIAIDNews@NIH Jens Kuhn
Read more in @cellcellpress: https://t.co/xRqqVb8yZa
— Cell Press (@CellPressNews) September 30, 2022
A virus similar to HIV
“This animal virus has discovered how to access human cells, multiply and escape some of the immune mechanisms important things we expect to protect ourselves from an animal virus. It’s quite rare. We should pay attention to that.” pointed out the lead author of this study, Sara Sawyer, professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of Colorado.
For now, no human infections are known. American researchers nevertheless believe that there is of the “deep similarities” with HIV. A virus born in African monkeys, as recalled The Independent. The urgency, of course, is to avoid another pandemic. Scientists therefore plan to analyze arteriviruses very carefully, both in animals and in humans.