Genital herpes: the ancestor who transmitted the identified virus to us

417 million. This is the number of people aged 15 to 49 infected with the HSV-2 virus, responsible forgenital herpes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). A scourge that could have been avoided, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford Brookes. In study published in the journal Virus Evolution, they reveal the identity of the ancestor who transmitted the virus to humanity.

A virus that has adapted to its new environment

Her name ? Paranthropus boisei. It is a bipedal hominid with a flat face and a small brain. Scientists say he contracted the virus, which is transmitted through open wounds, by coming into contact with the flesh of chimpanzees carrying HSV-2. Introduced into this branch of humanity, the virus would then have adapted to its new environment and Paranthropus boisei would have bequeathed this unfortunate heritage to our first ancestor, Homo erectus, between 3 and 1.4 million years ago. “Herpes infects everything from humans to coral, with specificities depending on the species. To cross the species barrier, this virus needs a successful genetic mutation combined with a significant exchange of fluids,” says Dr. Charlotte Houldcroft, lead author of the study and virologist in the Cambridge Department of Archeology, at Phys.org.

To explain the transmission of the virus between Paranthropus boisei and Homo erectus, scientists put forward two hypotheses: either the two species had close contact near water sources such as Lake Turkana in Kenya, where they often drank, or Homo erectus ate the flesh of Paranthropus boisei. Thanks to this discovery and the methodology put in place, the researchers hope to learn more about the transmission of other old diseases.

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