Threats to Chimpanzee Survival
HIV in Chimps
If wild chimpanzees disappear, so too will the pieces to the AIDS puzzle.
On January 31, 1999, scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham announced their discovery that HIV (Type-1), the virus that causes AIDS, originated in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). A paper detailing the discovery appears in the February 4, 1999 issue of the scientific journal Nature.
The scientist behind the discovery, Dr. Beatrice Hahn, has emphasised the conservation angle of this breakthrough finding. "We cannot afford to lose these animals, either from an animal conservation or a medical investigative standpoint," she said. "It is quite possible that the chimpanzee, which has served as a source of HIV-1, also holds the clues to its successful control." Dr. Hahn and her colleagues hope that as a consequence of their research, there will be additional measures taken to discourage chimpanzee poaching and to preserve this and other endangered primate species.
Jane Goodall's Response
Dr. Hahn's discovery that HIV-1 originated with Africa's wild chimpanzees is an important milestone in the world's efforts to find a vaccine for this devastating disease. But to find these pieces we must protect the forests, the people, and the chimpanzees and other animals that live in Africa.
If wild chimpanzees disappear, so too will the pieces to the AIDS puzzle.
Only if we work together to preserve the wild chimpanzee populations can scientists like Dr. Hahn study the way in which chimps have adapted to the virus, leading to new ways to treat the disease in humans. Only if we keep the chimpanzees in their natural setting can we learn how the virus transfers from one chimpanzee to another. And only if the chimpanzees continue to live freely in the forests can we learn about new strains of the virus that have yet to affect the human race. If the chimpanzees are removed from their natural habitat, these pieces of the puzzle will be gone forever.
Commercial logging, hunting for bushmeat, and the illegal pet trade have pushed the chimpanzees to the brink of extinction.
I applaud the manner in which Dr. Hahn has approached this delicate issue. By promoting humane and non-invasive research of the wild chimpanzees and discouraging continued poaching and logging, she has taken into consideration not only the needs of the people at risk and the larger implications of this discovery, but also the endangered status of the wild chimpanzee populations.
~Dr. Jane Goodall, PhD
