HEPATITIS B, the virus carried by 5 per cent of the world’s population,
probably spread to people from apes or monkeys, British scientists suggest.
The researchers tested three wild chimpanzees found orphaned in Cameroon for
the presence of hepatitis B (HBV), and found all three were positive. DNA tests
on the virus matched a strain present in a chimp living at London Zoo. The
researchers say that this, along with evidence of natural infections of a
hepatitis-like virus in orang-utans published last year, provides powerful
evidence of naturally occurring animal epidemics.
The finding also appears to kill off other theories…
