Mandrills are naturally infected with simian T-cell leukaemia virus type 1 (STLV-1) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)mnd. In humans, dual infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) may worsen their clinical outcome. We evaluated the effect of co-infection in mandrills on viral burden, changes in T-cell subsets and clinical outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudies of primate lentiviruses continue to provide information about the evolution of simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) and the origin and emergence of HIV since chimpanzees in west-central Africa (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) were recognized as the reservoir of SIVcpzPtt viruses, which have been related phylogenetically to HIV-1. Using in-house peptide ELISAs to study SIV prevalence, we tested 104 wild-born captive chimpanzees from Gabon and Congo. We identified two new cases of SIVcpz infection in Gabon and characterized a new SIVcpz strain, SIVcpzPtt-Gab4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnderstanding how pathogens spread and persist in the ecosystem is critical for deciphering the epidemiology of diseases of significance for global health and the fundamental mechanisms involved in the evolution of virulence and host resistance. Combining long-term behavioural and epidemiological data collected in a naturally infected mandrill population and a Bayesian framework, the present study investigated unknown aspects of the eco-epidemiology of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), the recent ancestor of HIV. Results show that, in contrast to what is expected from aggressive and sexual transmission (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSimian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection in African nonhuman primate (NHP) natural hosts is usually nonpathogenic, despite high levels of virus replication. We have previously shown that chronic SIV infection in sooty mangabeys (SMs) and African green monkeys (AGMs) is associated with low levels of immune activation and bystander T cell apoptosis. To compare these features with those observed in another natural host, the mandrill (MND), we conducted a cross-sectional survey of the 23 SIV-infected and 25 uninfected MNDs from the only semifree colony of mandrills available worldwide.
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