Did Roman Empire “Spread” HIV Threat?

A claim by French researchers published at the New Scientist raised questions about a possibility that the threat of HIV started even during ancient times.  According to the report by researchers at the University of Provence, people living in former colonies of the Roman Empire are less likely to have a gene variant that protects against HIV, leaving them more vulnerable to the disease.

The report presented that the people living in countries that used to be in the borders of the empire for longer periods such as Spain, Italy, and Greece, have their frequency of the CCR5-delta32 gene from 0% to 6%.  CCR5-delta32 offers some protection against HIV.

Meanwhile, people from countries that were at the fringe of the empire, such as Germany and modern-day England, have CCR5-delta32 frequency rates between 8% and 11.8%.  The countries that were never conquered by Rome have higher rates than such.

However, the researches do not conclude that the genetic difference is caused by inter-colony breeding between the Romans and the local population.  Instead, they suggest that the Romans may have introduced an unknown disease to which people with CCR5-delta32 variant were particularly susceptible.

Others argue that the difference could be linked to a far larger event, such as the spread of pandemic diseases like bubonic plague or smallpox, and that these infections may have increased rather than decreasing the frequency of the variant.

In another report made by researchers at the University of Liverpool, they suggest that the variant may have protected many early Europeans against widespread infections at the time such as the Black Death, which swept the continent on a regular basis during and after the Roman era.  They added that these illnesses may have been lethal to people without the gene variant, raising its frequency from one in 20,000 people to about 10% in Northern Europe.

 
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2,498 Responses to “Did Roman Empire “Spread” HIV Threat?”

  1. Thank you…

    I was very pleased to find this web-site.I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post….

  2. Thank you…

    I was very pleased to find this web-site.I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post….

  3. Excellent Many thanks for sharing I enjoyed released considerably while reading Many thanks for sharing

  4. E News Guess shes all grown up now Ashley Tisdale Shows Us Shes All Grown Up

  5. 5. Fantastic goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you are just extremely wonderful. I really like what you have acquired here, really like what you’re saying and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it wise. I can not wait to read much more from you. This is really a tremendous website.

  6. Caroline says:

    I genuinely enjoy reading through on this web site , it contains fantastic posts . “The longing to produce great inspirations didn’t produce anything but more longing.” by Sophie Kerr.

  7. [...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……

    [...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……

  8. I think this is among the most vital info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But want to remark on few general things, The website style is ideal, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers

  9. … [Trackback]…

    [...] Read More: vd.com/health/diseases-conditions/venereal-diseases/hiv-aids–/did-roman-empire-spread-hiv-threat [...]…

  10. Hey…

    very nice post, i certainly love this website, keep on it…

  11. Heya i¡¦m for the primary time here I found this board and I find It truly useful & it helped me out a lot Im hoping to present one thing back and aid

  12. Great blog…

    The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you coul…

  13. Thanks you…

    There are some interesting points in time in this article but I donft know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBur…

  14. ………..

    My spouse and i suppose for the present time i’ll be happy with bookmarking and adding your current Feed to be able to my own Yahoo and google account. My partner and i anticipate fresh changes and definately will share this blog along with my own Fac…

  15. Durch Ephedrin zu einem Wunschbody

  16. My husband and i felt excited when Edward managed to deal with his preliminary research from your precious recommendations he grabbed from your blog. It’s not at all simplistic just to happen to be freely giving thoughts which usually a number of people could have been trying to sell. Therefore we understand we’ve got the website owner to be grateful to for that. Most of the explanations you made, the easy site navigation, the relationships you help to instill – it’s got everything unbelievable, and it’s really facilitating our son in addition to us feel that this theme is pleasurable, and that’s pretty important. Many thanks for all!

  17. Giving you quality African Mangoo means very much to us

  18. Really enjoyed reading your article and will be viewing regularly.

  19. Now, this article is a little something that you do not see routinely. It’s a great thing that I saw this posting thanks to my friend who showed it to me. It is very extraordinary for a blogger to invest a large amount of dedication displaying the strategies and information that you shown. It is quite apparent that you put loads of time and effort into this so thanks a bunch!

  20. bodybuilding says:

    Thanks…

    When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!…

  21. Thank you…

    I was very pleased to find this web-site.I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post….

  22. I actually felt embarrassed for Rikishi he used to be a intimidating monster then turned him into some fun loving person

  23. Arigatou…

    Hello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon….

  24. Don’t miss a walk down Omotesando in the evening, while designer buildings are illuminated gloriously, making it an impressing show of contemporary Japanese Architecture. This is a romantic evening sightseeing tour in Tokyo.

  25. velo enfant says:

    Yeah bookmaking this wasn’t a high risk determination outstanding post!

  26. Wonderful goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you’re just too fantastic. I actually like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you’re stating and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still take care of to keep it smart. I can’t wait to read far more from you. This is really a great web site.

  27. Hello. fantastic job. I did not expect this. This is a fantastic story. Thanks!

  28. I like what you guys are up too Such smart work and reporting Carry on the superb works guys Ive incorporated you guys to my blogroll I think itll improve the value of my website

  29. This is one of several motives why I keep going back to this blog. This blog is an abundance of understanding and I can’t wait to commence using them. I love how it is conspicuous that you made plenty of time and effort in researching. I never enjoy it when I continue reading postings that are five hundred words long but are deficient in message. It is like they just want to reel you in and they’re not really providing something logical. So cheers!

  30. This design is incredible! You obviously know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!

  31. I’ve been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this web site. Thanks, I’ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your website?

  32. JDM auto says:

    I think other site proprietors should take this site as an model – very clean and magnificent style and design, not to mention the content. You are an expert in this topic!

  33. Websites worth visiting…

    I enjoyed reading your article, many thanks….

  34. Blogs ou should be reading…

    [...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……

  35. Amazing site…

    I really liked your blog, thanks for sharing this useful information……

  36. Hello!…

    An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you should write more on this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people are not enough to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers…

  37. Hello!…

    An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you should write more on this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people are not enough to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers…

  38. I gotta favorite this internet site it seems very helpful invaluable|

  39. [...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……

    [...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……

  40. I have to confess that I sometimes get bored reading the whole thing but I feel you can add some value. Bravo !

  41. May it be Aol, Ask or even the almighty Google, the link popularity is what number. And so the question here is how to acquire No cost back links. Specially higher backlink service Public relations back links.

  42. Thanks you…

    There are some interesting points in time in this article but I donft know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBur…

  43. After I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new feedback are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any means you’ll be able to take away me from that service? Thanks!

  44. Thank you…

    I was very pleased to find this web-site.I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post….

  45. Hey…

    very nice post, i certainly love this website, keep on it…

  46. Hey!…

    Spot on with this write-up, I truly think this website needs much more consideration. Ifll probably be again to read much more, thanks for that info….

  47. Thanks…

    Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I …

  48. interaktiv says:

    Hey…

    very nice post, i certainly love this website, keep on it…

  49. Bonjour…

    You should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!…

Leave a Reply