The scientific community is in turmoil. On Friday, September 30, 2022, American researchers at the University of Colorado are releasing a disturbing discovery: A virus that kills monkeys could also be fatal to humans.
Even today, HIV unfortunately cannot be cured. Nevertheless, there is always reason for hope. There are beautiful stories like that of a woman who was 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 in the summer is also raising high hopes among scientists. For example, several researchers conducted a study in which they tried to get rid of HIV with a single injection.
Transferable to humans
Research is evolving and with it the discovery of new diseases. While fears of a new Covid variant being discovered in Russia are alarming researchers, it’s a very different virus that’s also worrying part of the scientific community.
The news comes from the University of Colorado at Boulder. As The Independent reported, American scientists there have “discovered an obscure family of viruses already endemic to wild African primates.”
The results of this study were first published online on Friday, September 30, 2022 in the journal Cell released. The researchers explain that this virus could cause deadly Ebola-like symptoms in some monkeys. If we take this news seriously, it’s because this virus is said to be “on the verge of spreading” 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
Virus similar to HIV
“This animal virus has figured out how to get into human cells, replicate and bypass some of the important immune mechanisms that we expect to protect ourselves from an animal virus. This is quite rare. We should look out for it,” the study’s lead author pointed out , Sara Sawyer, Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado.
No human infection has been reported to date. The US researchers are of the opinion that the virus has “great similarities” with HIV. A virus that originated in African monkeys, like The Independent reported. The urgency, of course, is to prevent another pandemic. The scientists therefore plan to analyze the arterial viruses very precisely in both animals and humans.
Translated from French by Gentside FR
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