Diversity of STLV-1 strains in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) from Côte d’Ivoire

Simian T-lymphotropic viruses type 1 (STLV-1) are regarded as a highly conserved group of viruses with genotypes clustering according to geographic regions rather than to infected species. In free living West African chimpanzees we have described a variety of STLV-1 strains and suggested that this diversity results from interspecies transmissions. Here we present new data on STLV-1 infections in these chimpanzees with the presence of two new distinct clades, proposing the establishing of two new STLV-1 subtypes. Moreover, in one of the chimpanzees, the Central African STLV-1 subtype B was detected. The STLV-1 strains detected here display a much wider diversity than heretofore reported for STLV-1 with presence of three distinct subtypes in chimpanzees from one distinct geographic region. In conclusion, the hypothesis of primate T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (PTLV-1) clustering by geography rather than host should be reconsidered, at least regarding STLV-1 infections in chimpanzees.