Lack of transmission of human immunodeficiency virus from infected to uninfected chimpanzees.

Four uninfected chimpanzees were each housed in separate cages with an HIV-infected chimpanzee for six to twenty-nine months. Despite close daily contact, all uninoculated chimpanzees remained seronegative for HIV, and virus was never isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the uninfected chimpanzees. These data indicate that the probability of transmission from infected animals to humans is extremely low and also provide supportive evidence for lack of transmission of HIV by casual contact.