Research suggests AIDS virus entered US via Haiti

Описание: (31 Oct 2007) SHOTLIST
FILE: Port-au-Prince, Haiti - 01 December 2005
1. Street in Port au Prince
2. People walking, street vendors
Tucson, US - 30 October 2007
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Worobey, Co-author of study on origins of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) in the US:
"What we've done is shed some light on how HIV emerged out of Africa where we think it came from. And we put some time estimates on when those events occurred, which help us understand the pace and geographic nature of the spread of one of the most important human pandemics."
FILE: Port-au-Prince, Haiti - 01 December 2005
4. Exterior of FOSREF (French Acronym for the 'Foundation for Reproductive Health and Family Education') Centre, school girls running inside
5. FOSREF HIV educator lecturing young people
Tucson, US - 30 October 2007
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Worobey, Co-author of study on origins of HIV in the US:
"We recovered HIV gene sequences from five of these early cases from Haitian immigrants in Miami, and these were dated to the early 1980s and so these were early time points and with those we then added more than a hundred related strains from the US, Haiti, many, many countries around the world and then inferred the family tree of these viruses, the evolutionary tree, which allows us to estimate when important turning points in the spread of the virus occurred and where the virus was first."
FILE: Port-au-Prince, Haiti - 01 December 2005
7. Various of nurse taking blood
Tucson, US - 30 October 2007
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Worobey, Co-author of study on origins of HIV in the US:
" What we saw was a very clear signal that the virus was most likely in Haiti first, and then the epidemic in the US and many countries around the world funnels back to a single common ancestor."
FILE: Port-au-Prince, Haiti - 01 December 2005
9. Blood sample being placed in tray
Tucson, US - 30 October 2007
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Worobey, Co-author of study on origins of HIV in the US:
"If you think about it, it's not actually that surprising just because we know the virus takes, on average, eight to ten years to cause symptoms. The fact that there was a time span of about 12 years, we are estimating between the entry of the virus and the discovery of AIDS cases, is, in retrospect, not that surprising."
FILE: Port-au-Prince, Haiti - 01 December 2005
11. Pharmacist asking patient questions
12. Anti-retroviral pills being counted on Pan American Health Organisation tray
Tucson, US - 30 October 2007
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael Worobey, Co-author of study on origins of HIV in the US:
"It's also something that has some implications for future vaccine design. The way the virus spreads around the world, leaves its imprint in the genetic variation of the virus, which is the main challenge to vaccine design."
FILE: Port-au-Prince, Haiti - 01 December 2005
14. Patients in GHESKIO (French Acronym for the Haitian Institute of Infectious Diseases and Reproductive Health) waiting room
15. GHESKIO nurses filling out forms
STORYLINE
A new study suggests that the AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) virus entered the United States via Haiti, as early as 1969, probably brought in by one person.
Michael Worobey of the University of Arizona, on Tuesday explained the importance of the study, "The emergence of HIV/AIDS in the Americas and beyond," which he co-wrote.
"What we've done is shed some light on how HIV emerged out of Africa where we think it came from," Worobey said, saying Haiti was the stepping stone.

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