- Hello Jeff - Looks like they took a little of this, a
little of that, and a pinch of something else...pathogens from all sorts
of animals - pigs, sheep, cattle, horses, primates, etc. - and
mix them together, maybe in pigs carrying ASFV, and add a dash of mycoplasma...and
what do you get? AIDS
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- Patty
-
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- HIV And Visna -- Keske
-
- There have long been allegations that HIV contains fragments
of other retroviruses, or appears to be a splicing of other viruses. Different
theories have proposed that it contains segments of HTLV (a leukemia retrovirus,
the first human retrovirus that was discovered by Robert Gallo), or BIV
(bovine leukemia virus), or visna (a sheep retrovirus). Only a few things
seem clear. All of these viruses have significant similarities. SIV is
genetically closer to HIV, than are these other viruses. These facts do
not answer all the questions as to the ancestry of the viruses, or whether
they are natural, or not.There has been at least one study to suggest that
SIV appears to be descended from HIV, rather than vice-versa. It is possible
that both are relatively recent descendents of a common ancestor.
-
- Phylogenetic trees can show which subgroups of viruses
bear the most similarity to each other, but cannot in themselves prove
ancestral relationships.Determination of whether a virus contains fragments
of other viruses is a matter of statistical analysis. It would be possible,for
example, for HIV to have identifiable splices of other viruses, even if
it is overall closer to SIV. These are questions for future investigation.
For now, my goal has been just to get a better handle on animal retroviruses
that are similar to HIV, the order in which they were discovered, how much
is known about them, what record of lab experimentation is publicly available.
-
- Under the category of retroviruses, there is a subclass
known as "lentiviruses" (meaning "slow" viruses, that
take a long time to incubate). Mammal lentiviruses include EIAV (horses),
BIV (cattle), CAEV (goats), visna (sheep), PUMA and FIV (cats), and SIV
(monkeys/chimps).
-
- The large number of viruses would seem to suggest that
they are very old. However, this theory raises some puzzles. For instance,
why were they not noticed earlier? Visna is among the oldest- the first
known outbreak was around 1930, in Iceland. The virus was first identified
in 1949. Visna was not something that would likely go unnoticed. The outbreak
in Iceland was obvious and explosive.
-
- Similarly, SIV is now widespread among primates, and
is present in most species of monkeys.Monkeys and chimps from all over
the world were used were used extensively for research, in the decades
preceding AIDS. Viruses similar to HIV, such as FELV and visna, were well-known,
and their structure was identified in detail (see reference to follow).
There had been extensive attempts to identify and catalogue animal viruses.
Why would the viruses not have been discovered earlier?
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- These are not viruses that stayed confined in "remote
villages". Somehow, we have to explain viruses that jumped species
and jumped oceans and continents, from Iceland to Australia to Africa to
Europe and the U.S., yet were little noticed.There are such things as wild
cattle and sheep, but most are domesticated. This would lead you to imagine
that explosive and deadly new viral epidemics would not go unnoticed. These
viruses sometimes are not fatal, but often are. It is not simply a matter
that they were harmless variations of viruses. We would have to explain
why viruses that were supposed "harmless" in most species, suddenly
turned malignant in multiple species, at the same time.
-
- Presumably, all of the lentiviruses trace back to a common
ancestor- one of the more interesting questions. The phylogenetic trees
are today drawn without any identifiable root.We go to great lengths to
imagine how humans may have picked up a monkey virus, by tribes drinking
monkey blood,etc. It is even more interesting to imagine the link that
spread a virus between say, cattle and monkeys.
-
- It conjures slightly humorous images of Farmer Brown
inviting his brother, Jungle Jim, out to the farm, where his pet monkey,
Bonzo, got into a fight with Bessie the cow. Blood was everywhere. It must
have been awful.After all, we are talking about viruses that do not spread
by casual contact,even if the animals had casual contact,which they do
not. They are not predators of each other, they do not have sex with each
other.
-
- You might imagine some common vector such as insects,
but we have been assured that insects cannot transfer HIV, and are not
likely to do so in the future, even if HIV were to mutate significantly.You
might suppose that humans are the most common link among all the animals,
but we supposedly got our virus variant as the last in line.
-
- Another interesting observation is that most of the mammal
lentviruses are spread by milk, sometimes, spread primarily by milk. Humans,
consumers of goat's milk, sheep's milk, cow's milk, sometimes unpasteurized,
have presumably been exposed to other animal lentiviruses many times. If
the viruses are truly ancient, it is rather odd that we never became infected
with deadly disease, until very recently.
-
- Certainly, it is conceivable that all of these animal
retroviruses are relatively recent, just like the epidemic of HIV. HIV
has a phenomenal mutation rate, and has infected tens of millions of humans
in the span of a few decades. There multiple strains of HIV in humans,
already. Perhaps, among other mammals, it is just more of the same story.
-
- To try to sort out this mess, I tried to focus on what
seemed like the first known lentivirus, visna.I've been told visna itself
may have had origins in German biological war research/testing, but I have
no information on this, yet. I've also been told that EIAV may be older,
but again, I am still looking into this.It was clear however, that the
initial visna outbreak waswould have been well known, and of interest,
to anyone doing biological war research, any time after 1930.
-
- One cannot exactly search for what secret research might
have been done with visna. Next best is to try to find out how much was
known in the public arena, and when, and what kind of published experiments
were done with visna. This effort, in itself, was very revealing and unsettling.
-
- It certainly lends credence to the notion that visna
could have been manipulated with destructive results.For the rest of this
essay, I refer to studies that are listed in the "PUBMED" database.
-
- First, it is clear that there was *extensive* interest
and research involving visna, before the AIDS epidemic. I found dozens
of published experiments, looking just at a limited time frame in the 60's
and 70's. No doubt, the total experiments numbered at least in the hundreds-
a great deal of interest, for a infection that was rare among sheep, and
had already been eradicated in Iceland.
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- Second, it is clear that the detailed structure of visna
was well known, well before the AIDS epidemic. In order to realize this,
you don't need even to look at the abstract: the convenient title alone
makes the point:
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- Harter DH./The detailed structure of visna-maedi virus.
Front Biol. 1976;44:45-60. No abstract available.
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- Pautrat G, et al. [Study of the structure of Visna virus
by electron microscopy]. /C R Acad Sci Hebd Seances Acad Sci D. 1971 Aug
9;273(6):653-5. PMID: 5001143; UI: 72047938.
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- Visna is quite similar to HIV. If its structure was known
in detail, then why was it such a painful and prolonged effort to identify
HIV?
-
- Third, it is clear that researchers were attempting to
infect human cells with visna, well before AIDS broke out. It could be
argued that any such experiment of this type carries a degree of irresponsibility.
Any time that you expose a virus to a new host, there is a danger that
the virus will adapt to that host, and create a new strain of virus.
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- Macintyre EH, et al./ A modification in the response
of human astrocytes to visna virus. Am J Vet Res. 1974 Sep;35(9):1161-3.
PMID: 4370842; UI: 75021753.
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- Macintyre EH, et al./ Visna virus infection of sheep
and human cells in vitro--an ultrastructural study. J Cell Sci. 1973 Jul;13(1):173-91.
No abstract available. PMID: 4354152; UI: 73250349.
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- MacIntyre EH, et al./ Morphological transformation of
human astrocytes by visna virus with complete virus production. Nature
New Biol. 1972 May 24; 237(73):111-3. PMID: 4503847; UI: 72204414.
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- Macintyre EH, et al./ The establishment of a line of
visna virus-producing human astrocytes (V-1181N1). Med Res Eng. 1972;11(4):7-13.
PMID: 4370460; UI: 75016059.
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- Macintyre EH, et al/. Prolonged culture of Visna virus
in human astrocytes. Beitr Pathol. 1974 Jul;152(2):163-78. No abstract
available. PMID: 4369072; UI: 74306244. (The human "astrocytes"
refer to cells in human nerve tissue.)
-
- Fourth, it is interesting that researchers were experimenting
with visna and simian (monkey) tissues, also. Remember that monkey kidney
tissues are suspect in the contamination of vaccines. Many lab monkeys
were released back into the wild intentionally, because of "no sign
of disease". For AIDS-like viruses, with long incubation periods,
this is in hindsight a major mistake. At the time, it helped satisfy animal-rights
concerns.
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- August MJ, et al./ Visna virus-induced fusion of continous
simian kidney cells. Arch Gesamte Virusforsch. 1974;44(2):92-101. No abstract
available. PMID: 4365045; UI: 74250024.
-
- Fifth, researchers were studying visna's interaction
with the immune system:
-
- Panitch H, et al./ Pathogenesis of visna. III. Immune
responses to central nervous system antigens in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis
and visna. Lab Invest. 1976 Nov;35(5):452-60. PMID: 186662; UI: 77054769.
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- Lab Invest 1976 Nov;35(5):444-51 Pathogenesis of visna.
II. Effect of immunosuppression upon early central nervous system lesions./Nathanson
N, Panitch H, Palsson PA, Petursson G, Georgsson G
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- Lastly, it is clear that researchers were experimenting
with other cross-species transfers: sheep, goats, mice, cattle. They were
attempting also to induce tumors and cancers (references to "oncogenic",
and "sarcoma"):
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- Tamalet J, et al. [Morphological and biochemical analogies
of Visna virus with oncogenic RNA viruses] pp. 19-26. Monograph. 1976 Aug
23; . English; French. No abstract available. PMID: 180153; UI: 76215618.
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- Lycke E, et al/. Tumor incidence in Visna virus inoculated
mice. Experientia. 1976 Apr 15;32(4):514-5. PMID: 178528; UI: 76187733.
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- Thormar H./ Visna-maedi virus infection in cell cultures
and in laboratory animals. Front Biol. 1976;44:97-114. Review. No abstract
available. PMID: 182563; UI: 76257981.
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- Sharma DN, et al/ Jaagziekte & maedi of sheep &
goats transmitted in laboratory animals. Indian J Exp Biol. 1974 Jan;12(1):95-6.
No abstract available. PMID: 4372169; UI: 75040295.
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- Haase AT, et al./ A comparison of the high molecular
weight RNAs of visna virus and Rous sarcoma virus. Virology. 1974 Jan;57(1):259-70.
No abstract available. PMID: 4362024; UI: 74130620.
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- Haase AT, et al/ Characterization of the nucleic acid
product of the visna virus RNA dependent DNA polymerase. Virology. 1974
Jan;57(1):251-8. No abstract available. PMID: 4131957; UI: 74130619.
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- Boothe AD, et al/. Ultrastructural studies of a visna-like
syncytia-producing virus from cattle with lymphocytosis. J Virol. 1974
Jan;13(1):197-204. No abstract available. PMID: 4129840; UI: 74086415.
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- Haase AT, et al./ Demonstration of a DNA provirus in
the lytic growth of visna virus. Nature New Biol. 1973 Oct 24;245(147):237-9.
No abstract available. PMID: 4127186; UI: 74023815.
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- Why are so many viruses crossing species, and creating
deadly new epidemics in modern times? The reader is encouraged to read
the titles and abstracts of a great many experiments such as the above.
You will not need a pHD in microbiology in order to gain a quite valid
epiphany on the subject.
-
- (a link has been added to view Keske's research into
the 1971 Progress Report of the Special Virus Cancer Program)
-
- Tom Keske maintains an archive of essays for non-profit
distribution providing authorship is recognised at <http://members.xoom.com/trkeske>http://members.xoom.com/trkeske
-
- Tom Keske is a Boston, Mass (US) based writer...to commission
articles contact tkeske@mediaone.net
-
- http://www.whale.to/v/keske6.html
-
- Patricia A. Doyle DVM, PhD
- Bus Admin, Tropical Agricultural Economics
- Univ of West Indies
-
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message
board at:
- http://www.emergingdisease.org/phpbb/index.php
- Also my new website:
- http://drpdoyle.tripod.com/
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
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