Origin of the Viruses and Their Evolutionary History: Recent Advancement | Chapter 4 | Innovations in Medicine and Medical Research Vol.2
The
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) originated via a process of natural
evolution, probably emerging from the primate SIV reservoir into the human
population via hunting or other behavior involving contact with the blood of
these animals. A particular subspecies of chimpanzee, the Pantroglodytes
troglodytes, has been recognized as the most probable original source of human
infection. Analysis of viral genetic sequences has allowed researchers to
estimate that the native strain of HIV originated in 1931. In the West, sexual
behavior patterns and injecting drug use subsequently began the epidemic.
Polymerase Chain reaction (PCR), is a technique in molecular biology that
amplifies a specific region of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and has been useful
in the molecular characterization of viruses. The Variola major, the virus that
causes the smallpox, lethal virus in the 30% of the cases, was eradicated in
1979 in the human species, thanks to a capillary vaccination on global scale.
It has now become a “historical footprint” in two known laboratories, one in
the USA and another in Russia, leaving no obvious source for its often-theorized
use as a bioterrorist weapon. Nevertheless, mass vaccination against smallpox
continues to be a leading initiative in Western countries to guard against
bioterrorist attack.
Author(s) Details
Giulio Tarro
Beaumont Bonelli Foundation for Cancer Research, Naples, Italy and Committee on Biotechnologies and Virus Sphere, World Academy of Biomedical Technologies, UNESCO, Paris, France.
View Book :- http://bp.bookpi.org/index.php/bpi/catalog/book/161
Author(s) Details
Giulio Tarro
Beaumont Bonelli Foundation for Cancer Research, Naples, Italy and Committee on Biotechnologies and Virus Sphere, World Academy of Biomedical Technologies, UNESCO, Paris, France.
View Book :- http://bp.bookpi.org/index.php/bpi/catalog/book/161
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