Avoid unsafe sex WITH APES !

[Guest guest]

Ape herpes viruses may be transmissible to humans-study

LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Chimpanzees and gorillas in Africa have

herpes-like viruses that are potentially transferable to humans, French

scientists said on Wednesday.

Researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Paris have detected and sequenced

a

gene fragment from three viruses in apes that is more closely related to

the

herpes virus KSHV than any other virus.

KSHV causes Kaposi's sarcoma, a type of skin cancer in AIDS patients.

In humans the group of herpes viruses, ranging from 1-8, cause a variety

of

illnesses including cold sores, chicken pox, shingles and genital herpes.

Unlike the HIV virus that leads to AIDS and which many believe jumped

species

from monkeys, scientists do not think the herpes viruses originated in

apes.

``Our results indicate the great apes from central Africa could provide a

reservoir of new herpes viruses that are potentially transmissible to

humans,'' Dr Antoine Gessain said in a report in the science journal

Nature.

Once a person or animal is infected with the virus it persists in the

body

for life.

``This kind of discovery gives us new molecular tools which can open new

areas regarding the discovery of new viruses,'' Gessain added.

``Very probably there are more herpes viruses in humans and with these

tools

it will be easier to discover them,'' he added.

________________________________________________________________

YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!

Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!

Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit:

http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.