Frequent âNaturalâ? Zoonotic Transmission of Simian foamy Virus to Humans
Anne-Mieke Vandamme
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*Correspondence: Anne-Mieke Vandamme, Email not available
Abstract
Two recent studies documented the ânaturalâ?transmission of simian retroviruses to humans. Thesimian foamy virus (SFV) was implicated in bothreports. SFV is the third âhumanâ? retrovirus, and likethe others has been acquired from simians. The firsthuman retrovirus to be discovered was the humanT-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV), closely related tothe simian T-cell lymphotropic virus (STLV). The secondwas the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),closely related to SIV, the simian virus. SFV has beenpreviously reported in humans occupationally exposedto primates in research centers (Heneine, et al.Nat Med 1998;4:403-7), but it was not clear howwidespread these infections were. Now, two studiesled by Heneineâs team at the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention extensively document thetransmission of SFV to humans. In the first study,Wolfe, et al. (Lancet 2004;363:932-7) examinedbush-meat hunters in Africa, while in the secondstudy Switzer, et al. (J Virol 2004;78:2780-9) analyzedprimate handlers and zoo keepers in the USA.
