The well-tempered SIV infection: Pathogenesis of SIV infection in natural hosts in the wild, with emphasis on virus transmission and early events post-infection that may contribute to protection from disease progression
Over 40 species of African nonhuman primates carry species-specific SIVs SIV prevalence in the wild is very high in most of the natural host species SIV horizontal transmission is efficient in spite of low levels of mucosal target cells Maternal-to-infant transmission is rare in spite of massive offspring exposure to SIV Natural hosts of SIVs generally do not progress to AIDS Control of immune activation is the key factor behind lack of disease progression