AIDS and Chimpanzees

My understanding of the science and politics surrounding the use of chimpanzees in AIDS research was greatly enhanced by your recent article.¹ However, the column erroneously reported that there is no small-animal AIDS model. Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection of domestic cats causes disease that is clinically indistinguishable from HIV-1 infection in humans. Cats are relatively inexpensive to maintain, have a short breeding cycle, and pose less of a zoonotic-disease threat to their handlers than do nonhuman primates. Antiviral therapies for HIV have shown generally similar efficacy and toxicity when administered to FIV-infected cats. Culture-adapted strains of FIV utilize the CXCR-4 receptor, just as do T-tropic strains of HIV. The similarities between HIV-1 and FIV are too numerous to list here.

There is a small but vibrant worldwide community of FIV research laboratories publishing new information on lentiviral pathogenesis, intervention, and vaccination strategies. Regrettably, many HIV researchers are unaware...