Rethinking the Course of AIDS Research

The UW-Eau Claire forensics team recently placed 9th in the nation at the National Forensics Association tournament in Malcomb, Ill. Junior Kelly Bender was named the national champion in persuasive speaking for the following speech:

When the National Institutes of Health awarded Dr. Peter Duesberg their 7-year Outstanding Investigator Grant in 1986, they expected him to pick apart and criticize scientific research. After all, that is the entire purpose of the grant. What the NIH did not expect was the research Duesberg would choose to investigate would be AIDS. In fact, you probably have heard Duesberg's name before – described with the negatively connotated term AIDS dissident. You may have heard of other AIDS dissidents, such as the San Francisco chapter of ACT UP that has loudly vocalized their disbelief in the HIV/AIDS theory. And while mainstream media and science portrays these dissidents as extreme and uneducated, I want you to take ten minutes today and ask yourself this question: What if they're right?

Scientific journalist Neville Hodgkinson answers this question in his 1996 book, stating, "If the HIV theory is wrong, it may have cost thousands of lives. The neglect of other ways of thinking or lines of research means thousands had been denied information or treatment that might have saved them." While my accounting major puts me a far cry from a scientific expert, I have spent the past four years reading and researching this debate, so let me present you with a stark, undisputed reality: 20 years ago, HIV was announced as the cause of AIDS, and since then nearly all AIDS research has been based on that hypothesis. However, after 20 years of research we are no closer to finding a cure or even understanding the disease. This lack of progress demands that we question our own perceptions of HIV and AIDS, and at the very least listen to alternative AIDS theories. So today, take the time to listen to the facts about AIDS, then listen as I unveil some of the myths about AIDS, and become aware of this AIDS debate so we can start spreading true AIDS awareness.

The first diagnosed case of AIDS was in 1981, and ever since then, the facts surrounding the disease have been hard to determine. But here's the first fact: AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and it's just that: a syndrome in which the afflicted person's immune system does not work. Consequently, AIDS is always a secondary cause of death; the primary cause is the disease that killed tissues in the body. Examples are Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumonia. AIDS is the condition that allows these diseases to exist. According to the CDC's webpage, last updated September 23, 2003, there are over 30 AIDS related diseases.

Second fact: In 1984, Dr. Robert Gallo announced HIV was the probable cause of AIDS. As John Crewdson details in his 2002 book, Dr. Gallo made this announcement at a press conference before he had even submitted a paper to a scientific journal for peer review. Which leads to the third fact: currently, there is not a single published scientific paper that supports the hypothesis that HIV is the probable cause of AIDS. Noble Laureate Kary Mullis expresses his anger in his 1998 assertion that the lack of such a paper is unacceptable.

The fourth fact: HIV positive does not equal AIDS. Being HIV positive simply indicates that HIV, the virus believed to cause AIDS, is present.

And the fifth fact: HIV is not always necessary for AIDS to exist. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported in December of 1988 that 8-15% of AIDS victims have tested negative for HIV. Dr. Robert Root-Bernstein explains in his 1993 book that even a handful of HIV negative AIDS patients should be alarming because it means that HIV may not be the sole cause of AIDS.

Now that we have defined the AIDS facts, it is time to unveil the myths, and there are four major myths surrounding AIDS dogma today. First myth: HIV, the virus believed to cause AIDS, is infectious. In 1997, the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that in order to contract HIV heterosexually, one needed an average of 1,000 sexual contacts, which is much higher than any other sexually transmitted disease. But most importantly, as Peter Duesberg explains in his 1996 book, HIV doesn't meet a single one of the scientific criteria for an infectious disease. These criteria are known as Koch's postulates. Currently, every single infectious disease in the world meets every single postulate – except one – HIV. Details on these postulates will be available in a handout at the end of my speech.

The second myth is that AIDS drugs have helped control AIDS. First, it must be known that AZT, a common drug prescribed to HIV-positive patients, was originally researched as a cancer drug, but was banned because AZT was found to be too toxic for human consumption. Furthermore, The Lancet of 1994 reported that AIDS drugs, including AZT, were so potent that their side effects were nearly identical to the side effects of AIDS. But the most damning evidence against AIDS drugs was reported by the New England Journal of Medicine in 1995: patients that had lived as HIV-positive for twelve years or longer all shared one common thread: They were not on any AIDS drugs.

Third myth: HIV tests are accurate. In 1999, the Women's Health Interaction published Uncommon Questions, a report that found there are over 50 factors known to cause false positive HIV tests. These factors were taken from 64 published scientific papers. Some of the factors include the flu, tetanus vaccination, and blood transfusions.

The final myth is that AIDS is terrorizing Africa. The AIDS Advisory Panel Report for South Africa reported in March 2001 that reliable statistics on AIDS in Africa do not exist. The reason is that in order to be diagnosed with AIDS in Africa, you don't need to take a test; all you need is a persistent cough, fever, and diarrhea. These are the exact same symptoms found in malnourished people with parasitic disease. As Dr. Okot-Nwang explained in a 2000 broadcast of Meditel, "I cannot distinguish between AIDS and other diseases." Dr. Harvey Bialy, who has been in Africa since 1975, further explains that he has seen an increase in malaria, TB, and diarrheal disease due to a decline in economy and health care. He has not seen any evidence of a new disease such as AIDS, forcing him to remark, "AIDS in Africa is based on so little evidence. It is a tragic myth."

These facts and myths surrounding AIDS are a lot to digest in ten minutes. But back to the question at hand: What if AIDS dissidents are right? Because in terms of time, money, research, and most importantly lives, we literally cannot afford to be wrong. After four years of personal research, I don't know the cause or cure for AIDS. But what I do know is this: We have been misled by the media and the public about the debate surrounding the cause of AIDS, and it is time we re-direct the course of AIDS dialogue to include the public, because AIDS is a public health issue. To help spread the message about the AIDS debate, I have composed these brochures that contain facts about HIV and AIDS as well as a list of alternative AIDS support groups and charities with contact information. In addition, you will also find an insert that contains a complete biography of all the sources used for this speech and the brochure. If you are questioning the facts of any of my sources or simply would like more information, I urge you to take the time and check them yourself. If you would like a brochure, please e-mail me at benderkm@uwec.edu.

Finally, if you have any questions about HIV, AIDS, or anything stated in this article, don't talk about my bold statements in a mocking tone; instead please e-mail me and ask. If I do not know the answer to your question, I will gladly research it for you and send you a response. Then, do talk about this speech over lunch, at the bars, wherever—because all I'm asking you to do is question AIDS research and spread awareness that the AIDS debate exists.

Truthfully, we should have begun questioning AIDS research in 1992. Because in 1992, Dr. Robert Gallo, the scientist who announced the HIV-AIDS connection, was found guilty by the Federal Office of Research Integrity for falsifying and stealing scientific data related to HIV and AIDS. Dr. Luc Montegnier, the French researcher from whom the data was stolen, also came forward in 1992 admitting that his isolation of HIV may have been a laboratory contamination, and that he cannot find any solid evidence of an HIV-AIDS connection.

These events were largely uncovered by the American media, which I find to be the most shocking fact of the AIDS debate. We have been misled by the media about AIDS, and by failing to question AIDS research, we only allow this deception to continue. Because if there is one fact, one fact that you remember about HIV and AIDS today, let it be this: if we don't question AIDS research, we will lose the war against AIDS – because we were too afraid to fight.

Relevant Websites:
www.virusmyth.net
www.dissidentaction.com
www.aliveandwell.org
www.aidsmyth.com
www.healtoronto.com