AIDS Denialism Under Fire From Researchers
Published: Jan 21, 2010 12:43 pm; Updated: Jun 18, 2010 11:55 am
An article published this month in AIDS and Behavior strongly rebuts claims that HIV does not cause AIDS, and argues that the AIDS denialist movement has been “disastrous,” costing “hundreds of thousands of lives” due to its influence on public policy.
The authors state that these deaths are a “crime against humanity,” and that there is a “need for accountability” for those responsible, possibly in the International Criminal Court.
Members of the AIDS denialist movement do not believe that HIV causes AIDS, that the disease has caused widespread deaths, or that antiretroviral drugs are effective.
The movement has largely propagated through the Internet and has some prominent supporters, including Berkeley professor Peter Duesberg and former South African president Thabo Mbeki.
The authors of the paper, from the Harvard School of Public Health, point out that HIV as the cause of AIDS has been rigorously proven through clinical trials and population statistics. “The evidence that HIV causes AIDS has been available for over 20 years,” they write.
The researchers also demonstrate that the “gold standard” to show that an infectious agent causes a specific disease, known as Koch’s postulates, has been satisfied in the case of HIV, and there is no doubt that the virus causes AIDS.
To satisfy Koch’s postulates a suspected infectious agent, such as a virus, must be isolated from a diseased animal; used to infect a healthy animal; cause disease in the new, previously healthy animal; and then be isolated from the now-diseased animal.
Although researchers faced difficulty in this process early in the history of HIV research because the virus only causes AIDS in humans, Koch’s postulates were satisfied when laboratory researchers unintentionally infected themselves with HIV in the mid 1990s and subsequently developed AIDS.
The authors argue that Duesberg, who claims that HIV does not cause AIDS, has “ignore[d] or den[ied] the data that does not support his position,” and has “cherry-pick[ed] statements from studies and present[ed] them out of context” to claim that the evidence for AIDS is weak.
Myron Essex and Pride Chigwedere, the authors of the article, use South Africa as an example to illustrate the “grave implications of AIDS denialism for public health practice.”
The researchers calculate that former South African President Mbeki’s denial of antiretroviral drugs to people with HIV caused 330,000 South Africans to die prematurely and 35,000 newborn babies to be infected with HIV between 2000 and 2005.
The researchers specifically blame former President Mbeki’s AIDS denialist policies in these deaths. In 1999, he withdrew financial support from clinics that had begun using zidovudine (Retrovir) for preventing transmission of HIV from mothers to their children during childbirth.
Mbeki also restricted the use of donated Viramune (nevirapine) in 2000, blocked AIDS treatment grants from the Global Fund in 2002, and delayed implementing a national antiretroviral treatment program until 2004.
The policies were implemented on the advice of Duesberg, who denies that AIDS has caused mass deaths in South Africa and defends Mbeki’s policies.
Duesberg maintains on his website that AIDS deaths have been caused “either by recreational drugs, or by…AZT [zidovudine] prescribed as [an] anti-HIV [drug], or by a combination of both” – claims which have been disproven by population studies and multiple clinical trials.
Essex and Chigwedere argue that because of the public health implications, “denialist writings require close scrutiny and peer review before being published in scientific journals.”
Medical Hypotheses, a journal lacking peer review, has come under fire from critics for publishing articles by Duesberg promoting AIDS denialism. Under pressure from AIDS activists, two articles were retracted recently from the journal (see related AIDS Beacon news).
One article argued that AIDS is not a problem in Africa, and the second stated that data in Italy does not show HIV as the cause for AIDS.
Essex and Chigwedere state that Duesberg’s refusal to change his views on HIV and AIDS amounts to “the rejection of objective reality to sustain a flawed, hurtful, and ultimately dangerous belief system.”
For more information, please see the press release on the Springer website or the article in the AIDS and Behavior journal (pdf).
Related Articles:
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- Antiretroviral Therapy Increases Fertility In HIV-Positive Women
- Beacon NewsFlashes – August 29, 2009
- GlaxoSmithKline Announces New Plan For African Aid
- Study Indicates Homosexual Men At Greater Risk For Contracting Multiple HIV Variants
Interesting Professor Myron Essex and Dr. Pride Chigwedere, make bold claims here in this nit pick article about the deaths of 300,000 Africans without a single referenced link. Denial? or Holy Grail? so called HIV Researchers and Scientists since the beginning of the deceptive construct of GRID and AIDS have speculated and hypothesised about Nobel Laureate Luc Montagnier’s nutritionally balanced retrovirus, causing fear and pharmaceutical drug pushing. Anyone who dare speak a word about Montagnier’s harmless Retrovirus[HIV] these high paid,pharma-funded self-styled scientists will cast you into the “Denialist Inquisition” http://surrealitytimes.blogspot.com/2009/02/riding-coat-tails-of-holocaust.html What is Montagnier’s fate? Should he be put on the Denialist wall of shame?
From the beginning of the construct of AIDS in the early 80’s, everyone in the world knew that AIDS Doctors killed or murdered way more than 300,000 people in the AIDS Hysteria era from 1987 to 1997 with AZT a toxic chemotherapy drug designed in 1964, banned for it’s high lethal toxcicity and carcinogenic and poisonous effects, so many innocent people lost their lives, the same drug used in Africa which they are in political denial that killed the African people from 2000 to 2005.
Like a modern day Jim Jones tragedy so many people are wasting away with the modern day Antiretroviral Drugs, although Luc Montagnier’s harmless Retrovirus can be killed with a simple and healthy diet, the general public and current patients are being viciously victimized by the fraudulent “HIV” antibody test, never being told that the antigens in all of the test kits have absolutely zero to do with “HIV”. Patients are developing a never ending Food & Drug Adminstration’s laundry list of direct diseases caused by the modern day ‘life ending ” drugs.
http://videos.nymag.com/video/Another-Kind-of-AIDS-Crisis Instant Old Age, Tooth Loss, Hair Loss, Facial atrophy, Buffalo Hump,Severe Lactic Acidosis, Life Threatening Stephen Johnson’s Syndrome, Bone Marrow Depletion, Organ and Hepatic Liver Failure and Death.
PLEASE NOTE: ScienceFictions.net will help any reader understand the classic “Peer Review’ process and how “HIV” skipped the Peer Review process.
Denialists advise no treatment? what constitutes “treatment” or a “medicinal protocol” with an undeniable death pill? How did these Black Box death pills get pass the Homeland Security Act?
These 2 Scientists [politicians] haven’t refuted anyone, these low budget articles are good for the public to reckognize the transparency of the HIV Industry and the media outllets who host them.
Way To Go ! Nora Proops !
Mr Brewster, perhaps you did not read the article correctly. Essex and Chigwedre researched and WROTE the paper stating the 330,000 deaths in S. Africa due to Mbeki withholding ARV meds! That’s why they did not link the paper. Just sayin’!
Also, you link to the NY Magazine article but you somehow fail to mention that the people in the article ALL, yes ALL, that’s right 100% of them attribute their longevity to the very meds named in that article! Most all of them were brought back from the very brink of death by those HIV meds to live another 20+ years with an excellent quality of life.
Why would you leave that fact out? Why that glaring omission?
JTD
Deshong, well well well The Pharmaceutical Pill pusher has spoken to me! I asked you on another forum to NOT engage with me, your rhetoric blindspot[blogspot] is truly transparent, totally original. Everyone knows how you grieve the loss of your lover, and how you blame the denialists.
You are looking for some atheistical approach to “HIV” and yes all the denyalists pity you but we are tired and wore out from your whining and constant bickering. as for your response above you basically contradicted yourself, the answer is rooted in your inability to grasp reality, in laymans terms, you’re in denial dude.
let’s printscreen this one.
Mr. Brewster, you give yourself way too much credit. And your lies are right in line with your denialist agenda.
First, what makes you say I am a Pharm. Pill pusher? Did you just like the alliteration? You know from your stalking of me I am a Medical Technoligst, American Society of Clinical Pathologist!
Second, I have never had a lover die from AIDS complications. And none of my friends who died were denialists, so I do not “blame” them for the death of my friends. My friends were brave people who fought the disease. Not denialists who were too afraid to confront something scary and potentially deadly. I am offended you would put any of my friends into your pathetic circle.
As for my blog, http://www.dissidents4dumbees.blogspot.com I am proud of pointing out the lies and hypocrisy of you pepole. And it is quite funny and original as well. I am glad you hate it, as it proves I am doing great work!
Lastly, why not provide some proof of your lies above instead of making sublime, general statements? Is it because you have no proof? Yes, that is what I thought.
JTD
Todd, I don’t really care what you think, as far as a Denialist Agenda Thats totally the AIDS Truth Inc (Save My bank Account(s)) email club,
Which is transparent, even Richard Horton acknowledge that, it’s no secret.
You are a pill pusher or maybe a better word is Pharma Slut, namely from your own words how you have lived the “lazarous effect’ all of these years and can conquer the lethal chemical therapy pills, but hey thats you take as many as you like, although it’s all merely ancedotal on all of us.
As far as your lover perahaps that was my mistake, and I admit it, perhaps I have you confused with someone else. I don’t recall ever mentioning any of your friends or colleagues so a big fat whatever to that. As far as stalking you rotflmao, you’re nuts, if you had posted here FIRST, I more than likely wouldn’t have bothered, I can’t waste my time on a 46 year old who uses the word “dumbees” on his url blogspot, it’s a total waste of anyones time, so please don’t flatter yourelf, and you will never win any arguments with me because there is none, as a matter of fact at this point your’re blocked at every opportunity. grow up.
As for your blog, you’d have more credibility if it had anything of substance, you rant around your own blog whining about clark and Ely as if they took candy from you. For someone who is a Medical Technoligst, American Society of Clinical Pathologist It makes me wonder who in the world would hire you? actually I don’t care, so run along, make sure you write the word denialist five hundred times a day so you don’t forget how to use the phony word, convince yourself that Mr Brewster cares. but don’t hold your breath.
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