Scientists make gene link to African HIV epidemic

timesonline.co.uk ^ | July 17, 2008 | Mark Henderson

[Free ThinkerNY]

A genetic variant peculiar to Africans substantially raises their risk of infection with HIV, according to research that suggests evolved susceptibility may be helping to drive the continent’s Aids epidemic.

The 90 per cent of Africans who carry the DNA variation are 40 per cent more likely to contract HIV than those without it, after similar exposure to the virus, scientists from Britain and America have found.

As the genetic change is common among people of African ancestry but virtually unknown among other ethnic groups, it could explain in part why HIV-Aids is more prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations estimates that 22.5 million people there are HIV-positive, more than two thirds of the global total of approximately 33.2 million.

The variant, known as “Duffy-negative”, is so common in Africa that it could be responsible for about 11 per cent of the continent’s HIV burden, or 2.5 million cases, scientists said.

[muawiyah]

Things like that gene variant that give a particularly nasty virus an advantage over human resistance and medications will probably eventually disappear from the gene pool.

On the other hand it's possible knowing this will serve to devise some sort of protective method.

[mylife]

Rev Wright wont like this!

[Be_Politically_Erect]

You beat me to it. But the Reverend Wright will say this proves his assertion.

[Perchant]

according to research that suggests evolved susceptibility may be helping to drive the continent’s Aids epidemic.

That makes no sense. How does something evolve to become more susceptible to something in the same region where the evolving occurred? Evolution would have the susceptible die out and the remaining would have more immunity.

[mylife]

yup!

[Sacajaweau]

IIRC, HIV was originally introduced via an ape.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

I'm more inclined to think that AIDS in Africa pertains to generally poor nutrition, as opposed to HIV. If that's the case, any genetic variation commonly shared by "ethnic Africans," whatever the hell that is, can be linked to AIDS.

[Siobhan]

So much gets revealed, finally. HIV/AIDS is clearly a manipulated disease, created in the laboratory in order to target people with the “African sequence” in their genetic code. The usual suspects will line up to say “Not so.” And the usual suspects will line up to say, “See, I told you so.”

And in the meantime the U.S. Department of Commerce will keep open their monitoring office in Botswana to see how well the project is going in killing off the Africans.

It is impossible for me to state just how much I hate Democrats and Republicans and the various bureaucracies of the U.S. government.

[muawiyah]

Just this one was linked ~ at the same time despite widespread food problem the prevalence of the disease parallels the prevalence of failure to circumcise males and to tolerate serial polygamy (one wife at a time, then another one, then another one ~ or, a husband and a lover, then a different lover, then a different lover, etc.)

Those two characteristics are not specific to malnutrition.

[muawiyah]

One does hope you simply forgot the "/sarc" close, but if you didn't this finding totally disproves the contention that HIV (in its several main varieties) was designed to wipe out folk with a particular DNA sequence.

To start with it's only recently that we've discovered that unique DNA signature sequences even existed. Secondly, not all the folks with the sequence have HIV infection ~ and it's worth noting that Moslems have a far lower incidence of infection than non-Moslems in Africa. Probably because they execute adulterers and hookers (in the areas where there is effective religious enforcement).

It would be difficult to believe that a genetically mediated rate of infection could be changed only by a religious preference, but there you have it.

The Reverend Wright probably doesn't have the sequence.

[attiladhun2]

Horse plop. What’s making Africans suceptible to awquiring the HIV virus is the same for everyone else, i.e., unsafe sex practices and unsanitary conditions.

[attiladhun2]

Hmmm, and I thought aluminum foil hats were out of style.

[Chode]

somehow... it will end up OUR FAULT!!!

[muawiyah]

Look, as Western Europeans were developing improved genetic based toleration for wheat gluten in the diet, the Sa'ami, who lived far to the North, managed to develop changes in the same genes that led to a lower genetic based toleration for wheat gluten.

So, how did that happen? Well, there's no grass grown in the far North near the Arctic Circle so you end up with random change that becomes quite widespread since its impact on the population is netural.

Then, one day about 900 AD outsiders opened up direct, regular contact with the Sa'ami and tried to Christianize them. That's when they discovered wheat and boy did they discover it. Probably made most of them think the priests were trying to kill the kids.

So, in Africa, let's say during the last major period of glaciation, a gene is developed that has a hidden advantage, or it's just one that's not that vital and it develops a random change, and everything goes along fine until human beings start moving into the core territory of the Great Apes in South Central Africa.

Bingo ~ a few chunks of "jungle meat" and next thing you know Africans find out that the gene wasn't neutral.

This is new science BTW. It's only relatively recently that genomes of a number of individuals can be surveyed in sufficient depth to figure out such connections.

[Fishrrman]

You can’t do genetic research like this!
It’s racist!

/sarc
By the way, it has also be known for quite some time that there is a certain genetic variation in some northern European whites that makes them essentially _immune_ to the HIV virus.

Our genes govern much more about us than we yet know.

I sense that some - perhaps many - of the future discoveries in genetics will disappoint and outrage many. As does the one that is the subject of this article (and I have no reason to doubt that the information presented will eventually be proven to be accurate).

- John

[BerryDingle]

tolerate serial polygamy (one wife at a time, then another one, then another one ~ or, a husband and a lover, then a different lover, then a different lover, etc.)

Some of those guys make it all the way to Hawaii.

[muawiyah]

Back to the Sa'ami, they also developed what seem to be genes that control cell surfaces such that they wouldn't be infected by black plague, typhoid, cholera, etc. After the 900 AD breakout they got to pass them around.

Like I've noted before the cholera resistance is a neat idea. Makes it possible to drink water out of ditches (more or less, with suitable prophylaxis through straining).

The black plague reistance is also neat. The theory is that a whole host of diseases, including AIDS, cannot bust through cell membranes of the resistant people because they can't get a good grasp.

[Perchant]

It still doesn't add up. How do you think the Western Europeans developed toleration of the wheat? Those who couldn't tolerate it died early on and their genes were purged from the gene pool leaving just the wheat tolerators.

Regarding AIDS, Africans should be the Western Europeans of the wheat example and the rest of us would be the Sa’ami, if there was indeed a clear genetic element to it. I suspect that there are some in the field who would like to reach for remote explanations that would allow them not to deal with the behavior element.

[BobS]

Interesting points. I suggest that there are 7-8 civilizations that have been around a very long time. Every one has a particular disease they can come down with.

As people move around, they have diseases they are immune to. And get diseases they are not immune to.

[happygrl]

As one who has lived in Africa, I can tell you that it was and is the well-fed Urban Africans who were coming down with AIDs. There was much discussion about a decade ago of the devasting effects of this disease on the educated class in Africa: the Civil Servants, Teachers, Medical Personnel.

The effects of circumcision on the transmission of AIDs has recently been documented.

And the multiplicity of sexual partners, as you have pointed out, muawiyah, is the antecedent to the epidemic.

Another causative factor is the re-use of needles and poor sterilization of medical equipment.

[muawiyah]

The gene (actually genes since they've now found 9 of them) for intolerance to wheat protein arose recently (meaning in the last 15 thousand years).

The gene for greater tolerance of wheat protein arose in the same time period. These things occurred in different regions with different climates.

One of the cute items in all this is the impact of a type of Aristolochia clematis. Seems to prefer wheat fields. If you eat contaminated wheat your kidneys will be affected and you will die in a few days.

This is precisely why you have to clear wheat fields thoroughly before planting. See: http://www.vetscite.org/publish/items/003887/index.html

So far no gene variation has arisen that gives you immunity to this clematis plant BUT a gene variation or two, or three, has popped up that gives you immunity to wheat.

No doubt early immediate post ice age mankind benefited greatly from this.

Wheat is not an unmixed blessing.