HIV/AIDS origin traced to spread of colonialism in Congo

OXFORD, England, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Researches at the University of Oxford believe they have traced the origin of HIV and AIDS to the spread of Western colonialism in early 20th-century Congo.

Scientists at Oxford analyzed thousands of viral samples to conclusively determine the virus first originated in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, called Leopoldville at the time. The disease itself originated in nearby wildlife, likely in monkeys who were then hunted and sold as bush meat.

"It seems a combination of factors in Kinshasa in the early 20th century created a 'perfect storm' for the emergence of HIV, leading to a generalized epidemic with unstoppable momentum that unrolled across sub-Saharan Africa," described Oliver Pybus of the University of Oxford department of zoology.

Belgium-controlled Leopoldville experienced rapid population growth in the 1920s as it emerged as an urban epicenter of trade, transport and prostitution.

"It was a very large and very rapidly growing area and colonial medical records show there was a high incidence of various sexually transmitted diseases."

As Leopoldville was a densely populated economic hub with rail access to the far reaches of the continent and into others, public health campaigns to halt the spread of infectious diseases abounded, but with what would now be considered sub-par sanitary standards.

"There are two aspects of infrastructure that could have helped," Pybus said.

"Public health campaigns to treat people for various infectious diseases with injections seem a plausible route [for spreading the virus]. The second really interesting aspect is the transport networks that enabled people to move round a huge country."