Researchers of the University of Rouen, in France, identified a new variant of the virus HIV, cause of Aids, apparently transmitted to the humans by gorillas.

The new variant was identified in a 62 years woman from Cameroon, in the west of Africa. The patient doesn’t demonstrate signs of having developed Aids, they affirm the researchers.

According to the scientists, all the other three variants of HIV known are original of chimpanzees, but the new seems it was transmitted to the human beings by gorillas. The patient, however, moved to Paris, and she affirms that have no contact with monkeys of any type and never to have eaten meat of wild animals.

According to the authors of the study, that it was published in the magazine Nature Medicine, the patient might have been infected by other person that carried the linked variant to the gorillas.

The coordinator of the scientists’ team, Jean-Christophe Plantier, said that in spite of the most probable reason for the appearance of the new variant to be the transmission of gorillas for humans, is not discarded the possibility that has appeared initially in chimpanzees and later been transmitted to the gorillas. It is believed that was in that area that HIV was transmitted for the first time of chimpanzees for humans, maybe there is more than one century.

In agreement with the scientists, up to now the patient from Cameroon is the only known case of the new variant, but it is probable that new cases will be identified in other places. The researchers affirmed that the virus multiplies quickly in the human body, what can indicate that is already adapted.

Via: BBC Brasil.