How old is herpes

Some promising leads turned out to be dead ends. Australopithecus afarensis had the highest probability of proximity to ancestral chimps, but geography also ruled it out of transmitting to human ancestors.

Ultimately, the researchers discovered the key player in all the scenarios with higher probabilities to be Parathropus boisei. A genetic fit virally who was found in the right places to be the herpes intermediary, with Homo erectus -- and eventually us -- the unfortunate recipients. The genital herpes virus would have crept across Africa the way it creeps down nerve endings in our sex organs -- slowly but surely. The team believe their methodology can be used to unravel the transmission mysteries of other ancient diseases -- such as human pubic lice, also introduced via an intermediate hominin from ancestral gorillas over 3 million years ago.

Materials provided by University of Cambridge. The original story is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Science News. Story Source: Materials provided by University of Cambridge. Journal Reference : Simon J. Underdown, Krishna Kumar, Charlotte Houldcroft.

Network analysis of the hominin origin of Herpes Simplex virus 2 from fossil data. Virus Evolution , ; 3 2 DOI: Using advanced models of molecular evolution, the scientists were able to more accurately estimate ancient viral divergence times.

This approach allowed them to determine when HSV-1 and HSV-2 were introduced into humans with far more precision than standard models that do not account for natural selection over the course of viral evolution. The genetics of human and primate herpes viruses were examined to assess their similarity.

The viral family tree showed that HSV-2 was far more genetically similar to the herpes virus found in chimpanzees. This level of divergence indicated that humans must have acquired HSV-2 from an ancestor of modern chimpanzees about 1.

Co-authors include Martin D. And there the situation might have stood. The branch of the hominins that would eventually evolve into Homo sapiens may well have enjoyed a long and healthy herpes-free existence — if it were not for a big-boned, small-brained, heavy-set fellow standing in the shadows.

The infection route, however, was not direct from chimps, but through an intermediary — an unrelated hominin called Parathropus boisei , which seems to have harboured an unhealthy attraction to the species at both ends of the vector. This may have been, of course, because P. The results suggest that the key link in the chain was an unknown primate ancestor, which likely contracted the HSV2 virus as a result of eating bloodied chimp meat.

But if the australopithecine enjoyed chowing down on raw chimp, evolutionary karma was soon in evidence. The hominin lived at the same time — and in the same area, especially around waterholes — as our direct ancestor, Homo erectus. Homo erectus was quite possibly faster and smarter than its lumbering big-jawed ugly cousin and may well have been capable of killing and consuming it — completing the infective pathway for genital herpes.