did they ever determine how HIV got passed to the first human?

[brainhulk]

Who was it? How? Where?

 

[Printer Bandit]

in a lab.

 

[Gibsons]

Who was it? How? Where?

Most likely/commonly accepted explanation is someone was killing monkeys for meat, and it transmitted through an open wound during butchering.

 

[highland145]

Aliens
gubberment eradication initiative
monkey sex


take your pick.

 

[JTsyo]

monkey brain delicacy?

 

[MontyAC]

Sex with an ape.

 

[crashtestdummy]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1088480/

Humans contracted SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus) from monkeys that they killed for bushmeat. This had likely been happening for centuries (or millennia), but had not resulted in HIV. SIV only stays in humans for a short time before being eliminated, so it had to be rapidly passed between partners many times in a short span in order to mutate enough to become HIV. A couple factors allowed this to happen:

1) European-driven development of the Congo river region. This pushed migrant populations up and down the river, often with multiple sexual partners.

2) The introduction of ulcerative STDs into the population which drastically increased the chances of SIV (later HIV) transmission.

What's interesting is that despite its reputation as a "gay disease" in the Western world, most of the transmission in Africa occurred among straight people, often ones with multiple long-term sexual partners as well as those with ulcerative STDs. Also, this mutation of SIV->HIV likely happened many times independently, creating HIV-1 (and subtypes) and HIV-2.

 

[Baked]

Fried monkey with a side of corn plus biscuit.

 

[drebo]

Great green globs of greasy, grimy gopher guts,
Mutilated monkey meat.
Dirty little birdie feet.
Great green globs of greasy, grimy gopher guts,
That's what I want for lunch!

 

[Mixolydian]

monkey

 

[mizzou]

big government buoyed by latex lobbyists

 

[SunnyD]

Aliens
gubberment eradication initiative
monkey sex


take your pick.

I came here for the monkey sex. I leave satisfied.

:sneaky:

 

[schneiderguy]

Hot monkey sex.

 

[Special K]

Radiolab's Patient Zero episode talks about this:

http://www.radiolab.org/2011/nov/14/

 

[AdamantC]

Another vote for "some idiot screwed a monkey."

 

[etrigan420]

Colonel Mustard, in the Ballroom, with the Candlestick.

 

[gevorg]

something kinky in Africa...

 

[highland145]

Another vote for "some idiot screwed a monkey."

Well, the pooch died.

 

[middlehead]

Another vote for "some idiot screwed a monkey."

I don't care if it's the real answer, it's the more entertaining answer so that's what I go with.