Humans Got Herpes From Chimps

A new study finds that early human ancestors got herpes from chimpanzees.

Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), also known as human herpes virus 1 and 2

 (HHV-1 and HHV-2), are two members of the herpesvirus family, Herpesviridae, that infect

 humans.[1] Both HSV-1 (which produces most cold sores) and HSV-2 (which produces most genital herpes) are ubiquitous and contagious. 

They can be spread when an infected person is producing and shedding the virus. Herpes simplex can be spread through contact with saliva, such as sharing drinks.

According to LiveScience, researchers at the University of California, San Diego found that the “herpes simplex virus 1 infected hominids before their evolutionary split from chimps 6 million years ago.” In comparison, the herpes simplex 2 virus was transferred from chimps to human ancestors nearly 1.6 million years ago.

Chimpanzees, sometimes colloquially chimp, are two extant hominid species of apes in the genus Pan.

The Congo River divides the native habitats of the two species:

• Common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes (West and Central Africa)
• Bonobo, Pan paniscus (forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Chimpanzees are members of the family Hominidae, along with gorillas, humans, and orangutans.   Chimpanzees split from the human branch of the family about four to six million years ago. 

Chimpanzees are the closest living relatives to humans, being members of the tribe Hominini (along with extinct species of subtribe Hominina). Chimpanzees are the only known members of the subtribe Panina. The two Pan species split only about one million years ago.

“Before we were human, there was still cross-species transmission into our evolutionary lineage,” Joe Wertheim, study author and assistant research scientist at the university’s AntiViral Research Center, told LiveScience.

Wertheim noted in his study that herpes simplex virus 2 was caused by “cross-species transmission” from modern chimp ancestors to humans, while the herpes simplex virus 1 is a split between the chimp and human viruses.

“Understanding how and when we acquired viruses that currently infect us can give us perspective on future, potential cross-species transmission events that would lead to the introduction of new human viruses,” Wertheim told LiveScience.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people infected with herpes do not know they have it and there is currently no cure for the disease.

Wertheim’s study was published in the Molecular Biology and Evolution journal.