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margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #008080; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:white; background-color:#008080"><b>Not just a river in Egypt</b><br /><a href="/wiki/Denialism" title="Denialism"><font size="4" color="white"><b>Denialism</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#dcebeb;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Denialism" title="Category:Denialism"><img alt="Icon denialism.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/c/ca/Icon_denialism.svg/100px-Icon_denialism.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/c/ca/Icon_denialism.svg/150px-Icon_denialism.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/c/ca/Icon_denialism.svg/200px-Icon_denialism.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:white; background-color:#008080; text-align:center;"><b>Alternative facts</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#dcebeb;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Germ_theory_denialism" title="Germ theory denialism">Germ theory denialism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ozone_layer" title="Ozone layer">Ozone layer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide" title="Rwandan Genocide">Rwandan Genocide</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aquecimento_global" title="Aquecimento global">Aquecimento global</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moon_landing_hoax" title="Moon landing hoax">Moon landing hoax</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:white; background-color:#008080; text-align:center;"><b>♫ We're not listening ♫</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#dcebeb;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Shintaro_Ishihara" title="Shintaro Ishihara">Shintaro Ishihara</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mike_Pence" title="Mike Pence">Mike Pence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shinz%C5%8D_Abe" title="Shinzō Abe">Shinzō Abe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Candace_Owens" title="Candace Owens">Candace Owens</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Glenn_Greenwald" title="Glenn Greenwald">Glenn Greenwald</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kary_Mullis" title="Kary Mullis">Kary Mullis</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:DenialismSide" title="Template:DenialismSide">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:DenialismSide" title="Template talk:DenialismSide">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:DenialismSide&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table class="infobox" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #009955; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:White; background-color:#009955"><b>Style over substance</b><br /><a href="/wiki/Pseudoscience" title="Pseudoscience"><font size="4" color="White"><b>Pseudoscience</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#CCEADD;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Pseudoscience" title="Category:Pseudoscience"><img alt="Icon pseudoscience.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/7/7a/Icon_pseudoscience.svg/100px-Icon_pseudoscience.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/7/7a/Icon_pseudoscience.svg/150px-Icon_pseudoscience.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/7/7a/Icon_pseudoscience.svg/200px-Icon_pseudoscience.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#009955; text-align:center;"><b>Popular <a href="/wiki/List_of_pseudosciences" title="List of pseudosciences"><font color="white">pseudosciences</font></a></b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#CCEADD;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Alternative_medicine" title="Alternative medicine">Alternative medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Creationism" title="Creationism">Creationism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Racialism" title="Racialism">Racialism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudopsychology" title="Pseudopsychology">Pseudopsychology</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#009955; text-align:center;"><b><a href="/wiki/Category:Pseudoscience" title="Category:Pseudoscience"><font color="white">Random examples</font></a></b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#CCEADD;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Flood_geology" title="Flood geology">Flood geology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anecdotal_evidence" title="Anecdotal evidence">Anecdotal evidence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Morton%27s_demon" title="Morton's demon">Morton's demon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudoarchaeology" title="Pseudoarchaeology">Pseudoarchaeology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mozart_effect" title="Mozart effect">Mozart effect</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rice_puller" title="Rice puller">Rice puller</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Video_game" title="Video game">Video game</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pseudostatistics" title="Pseudostatistics">Pseudostatistics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Access_Consciousness" title="Access Consciousness">Access Consciousness</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Pseudosciencenav" title="Template:Pseudosciencenav">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Pseudosciencenav" title="Template talk:Pseudosciencenav">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Pseudosciencenav&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <dl><dd><i>Note: This article refers to the idea that HIV is not the cause of <a href="/wiki/AIDS" class="mw-redirect" title="AIDS">AIDS</a> — it does not address the various ideas that <a href="/wiki/Divine_retribution" title="Divine retribution">AIDS is punishment</a> from <a href="/wiki/God" title="God">God</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nature" title="Nature">Nature</a>'s way of <a href="/wiki/Natural_selection" title="Natural selection">thinning the herd</a>, or other moral questions.</i></dd></dl> <p><b>HIV denial</b> refers to the view that AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is not caused by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), but by some other factor, or combinations of factors. This is based on bad scientific foundations and false accusations similar to those of <a href="/wiki/Vaccine_denialism" class="mw-redirect" title="Vaccine denialism">vaccine denialists</a> that ART (antiretroviral therapy) is toxic. Such ideas have been scientifically shown to have dangerous consequences — the most infamous of these being the deaths of over 330,000 <a href="/wiki/South_Africa" title="South Africa">South Africans</a> while a "review council" was set up by HIV denialists, delaying treatment.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup> </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#History"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Denialism"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Denialism</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#In_Africa"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">In Africa</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#In_the_Philippines"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">In the Philippines</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#Evidence"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Evidence</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#Clues"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">Clues</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#Koch.27s_postulates"><span class="tocnumber">3.2</span> <span class="toctext">Koch's postulates</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#Other_claims"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Other claims</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="#AZT"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">AZT</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="#Testing"><span class="tocnumber">4.2</span> <span class="toctext">Testing</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11"><a href="#Summary"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Summary</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="History">History</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>In the early 1980s, the <a href="/wiki/CDC" class="mw-redirect" title="CDC">CDC</a> reported several cases of <i>Pneumocystis carinii</i> pneumonia, a rare respiratory disease that only strikes people with severely compromised immune systems.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> All of these cases occurred in <a href="/wiki/Gay" class="mw-redirect" title="Gay">gay</a> men who had been otherwise healthy. Hospital wards began to fill up rapidly with formerly healthy young men with bizarre illnesses related to immune deficiency. Over time, this syndrome became known as <a href="/wiki/Acquired_Immune_Deficiency_Syndrome" class="mw-redirect" title="Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome">Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup> It was soon noticed that intravenous drug users were also suffering from similar illnesses, as were hemophiliacs. Despite lack of support from the <a href="/wiki/Reagan" class="mw-redirect" title="Reagan">Reagan</a> administration, CDC epidemiologists were able to piece together a picture of a new blood-borne infection that seemed to single out certain unpopular groups of people.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup> Eventually, sub-Saharan Africa emerged as the epicenter of what was to become a deadly pandemic. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Denialism">Denialism</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Denialism">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>The loudest and earliest voice for denialism is <a href="/wiki/Peter_Duesberg" title="Peter Duesberg">Peter Duesberg</a>, Ph.D., a prominent U.C. Berkeley retrovirologist. He is the most notable of the denialists because of his influence and his scientific acumen in non-HIV-related work. He has contended at least since 1987 that illicit drugs, AZT (an anti-HIV drug), and other factors are the real cause of AIDS. Some of his original assertions follow.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup> </p> <dl><dd><dl><dd><i>Indeed the virus is not sufficient to cause AIDS </i></dd> <dd><i>(a) because the percentage of symptomatic carriers is low and varies between 0 and 5% with the risk group of the carrier, suggesting a cofactor or another cause;</i> <dl><dd>This has turned out to be false. Almost all people with HIV develop AIDS if untreated. A notable exception is people with mutations to the gene that codes for the CCR5 receptor, which is partially protective.</dd></dl></dd></dl></dd></dl> <dl><dd><dl><dd><i>(b) because the latent period for AIDS is 5 years compared to an eclipse of only days to weeks for replication and direct pathogenic and immunogenic effects; and</i> <dl><dd>A truly irrelevant observation. The latency of symptoms says nothing about causation.</dd></dl></dd></dl></dd></dl> <dl><dd><dl><dd><i>(c) because there is no gene with a late AIDS function since all viral genes are essential for replication. Moreover, the <b>extremely low levels of virus expression</b> and infiltration cast doubt on whether the virus is even necessary to cause AIDS or any of the other diseases with which it is associated. Typically, proviral DNA is detectable in only 15% of AIDS patients and then only in 1 of 102 to 103 lymphocytes and is expressed in only 1 of 104 to 105 lymphocytes. Thus, the virus is inactive or latent in carriers with and without AIDS. It is for this reason that it is not transmitted as a cell-free agent. By contrast, all other viruses are expressed at high titers when they function as pathogens. Therefore AIDS virus could be just the most common occupational infection of those at risk for AIDS because retroviruses are not cytocidal and unlike most viruses persist as latent, nonpathogenic infections. As such the virus is an indicator of sera that may cause AIDS. Vaccination is not likely to benefit virus carriers because nearly all have active antiviral immunity.</i> <dl><dd>Since the use of PCR and bDNA techniques, it has been shown that HIV virions, even in asymptomatic individuals, circulate at very high levels.</dd></dl></dd></dl></dd></dl> <p>The next year,<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup> responding to critics, he postulated that, among other things, HIV failed to fulfill <a href="/wiki/Koch%27s_postulates" title="Koch's postulates">Koch's postulates</a>. A strong response was given by Gallo and other respected scientists in the field. </p><p>His latest ideas vary little from his publications of 20 years ago.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[7]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[note 1]</a></sup> </p><p>He continues to tout the "Chemical AIDS Hypothesis". AIDS is purportedly caused by a combination of recreational drugs, anti-HIV drugs, and malnutrition, and claims that HIV is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause AIDS. An editorial accompanying one of his papers endorsed this idea and cited the "gay lifestyle", which seems quite bizarre, given the AIDS pandemic is most prevalent in heterosexuals in the developing world. His criticisms have been dealt with in many publications, but, like any good crank, <a href="/wiki/Argument_by_assertion" title="Argument by assertion">he recycles the same, unchanging arguments over and over</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[8]</a></sup> His publications do not seem to address the fact that AIDS is successfully treated with anti-HIV medications.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[9]</a></sup> </p><p>Another American organization which is associated with HIV denialism is <a href="/wiki/Doctors_for_Disaster_Preparedness" title="Doctors for Disaster Preparedness">Doctors for Disaster Preparedness</a>. By a curious quirk of fate, no less a personage than <a href="/wiki/Andrew_Schlafly" title="Andrew Schlafly">Andrew Schlafly</a> was a featured speaker at Doctors for Disaster Preparedness' July 2008 annual conference, where he spoke on "The Education of the World's Great Thinkers".<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[10]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="In_Africa">In Africa</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: In Africa">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>In Sub-Saharan Africa, there has been a significant, but very different denialist movement, mostly from political leaders such as <a href="/wiki/Thabo_Mbeki" title="Thabo Mbeki">Thabo Mbeki</a> of South Africa, where AIDS has been referred to as an "Afrikaner Invention to Deprive us of Sex." Much of the denial rested on the work of people like Duesberg, and allowed governments to avoid addressing the main issues of HIV prevention and treatment. </p><p>Mbeki's denialism was based, by his own admission, on research he had performed on the Internet,<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[11]</a></sup> and partly because of skepticism and suspicion of all things Western. As the main makers of HIV drugs are Western, he might believe that pharmaceutical companies are simply trying to make money.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">[12]</a></sup> The other part of Mbeki's denialism is the desire to shift blame for South Africa's problem; if AIDS is the result of poverty or malnutrition, it's not the fault of the post-Apartheid government and the problem will be solved by reelecting Mbeki. But once blame has been shifted, even though the government didn't cause AIDS, avoiding responsibility for dealing with the problem means the government <i>is</i> directly responsible for the suffering caused by denial in the first place. </p><p>Another theory, espoused by South African satirical cartoonist Zapiro (and, in fact, most South African satirists), is that Mbeki has his head so deep in the sand he may be in violation of China's mineral rights. </p><p>In November 2008, the Guardian reported that the AIDS policy of Thabo Mbeki's government was directly responsible for the avoidable deaths of a third of a million people.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">[13]</a></sup> </p><p>There is a popular belief in many African and Caribbean countries that AIDS is caused not by HIV, but by <a href="/wiki/Voodoo" class="mw-redirect" title="Voodoo">voodoo</a> <a href="/wiki/Curse" title="Curse">curses</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15">[14]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[15]</a></sup> Tragically, a proposed cure suggested to men afflicted with AIDS has been to <i>rape virgin girls</i> (the <a href="/wiki/Virgin_cleansing_myth" title="Virgin cleansing myth">virgin cleansing myth</a>). </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="In_the_Philippines">In the Philippines</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: In the Philippines">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Sixty percent of young <a href="/wiki/Filipino" class="mw-redirect" title="Filipino">Filipinos</a> believe that they cannot contract HIV, and 20% believe incorrect information about virus transmission.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17">[16]</a></sup> The Philippines has "the fastest-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Asia-Pacific in the past six years with a 140 percent increase in new infections".<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">[17]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Evidence">Evidence</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Evidence">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>AIDS presented a unique challenge of both ideas and technology. The first AIDS patients were often afflicted by multiple infections and cancers, making the identification of a unique cause difficult. Fortunately, the technology necessary to identify HIV was just being developed for other purposes. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Clues">Clues</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Clues">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>One of the first clues to the cause of the AIDS epidemic was the mode of transmission. People who acquired AIDS were exposed to <b>blood and body fluids</b> of others with the disease. Hemophiliacs received multiple blood transfusions. Though the blood they received was filtered, they became ill. Viruses (and only viruses) were able to pass through these filters. Also, hemophiliacs were a more diverse group of people, without the other putative exposures of male homosexuals and IV drug users. This led epidemiologists and researchers to consider a virus as being the ultimate cause of AIDS, and not some combination of drugs, sexual practices, and co-infections. </p><p>Another clue came from cell biology. The primary cell-type destroyed in AIDS is the CD4+ lymphocyte. There had been recent discoveries that retroviruses could infect CD4+ lymphocytes.<sup id="cite_ref-Gallo_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gallo-19">[18]</a></sup> In fact, a model existed in HTLV-1, a virus that is blood-borne and infects CD4+ cells. HTLV was one of the first viruses thought to cause AIDS. Once HIV was isolated, testing was developed, and <b>HIV was found to be universally present in all people with AIDS, while no other agent was present in all of these patients</b>. By 1984, HIV was found to be strongly attracted to CD4+ cells, was isolated from AIDS patients from many different areas, and similar viruses were found that caused AIDS in other primates. </p><p>Also, people who have mutations of the CCR5 surface protein (which assists in HIV's entrance to the cell) are resistant to HIV infection and AIDS. Also, drugs that inhibit HIV replication prevent progression to AIDS. </p> <h3><span id="Koch's_postulates"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Koch.27s_postulates">Koch's postulates</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Koch's postulates">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">For more information, see: <a href="/wiki/Germ_theory" title="Germ theory">Germ theory</a></div> <p>These postulates, which are followed (at least generally) to prove the nature of an infectious agent, <b>have been fulfilled for HIV</b>. Some examples are given below, but it is hardly comprehensive. </p> <ul><li><i>The microorganism must be found in all organisms suffering from the disease.</i></li></ul> <dl><dd><dl><dd>Of course, "all" is difficult to prove, given that there may always be someone with AIDS who is not known to the medical system, but studies have consistently found HIV in AIDS patients, and it is standard practice to test AIDS patients not only for antibodies to HIV but for HIV itself. Early studies of AIDS showed HIV in all patients examined.</dd></dl></dd></dl> <ul><li><i>The microorganism must be isolated from a diseased organism and grown in a culture.</i></li></ul> <dl><dd><dl><dd>This has been done.<sup id="cite_ref-Gallo_19-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gallo-19">[18]</a></sup></dd></dl></dd></dl> <ul><li><i>The cultured microorganism should cause disease when introduced into a healthy organism.</i></li></ul> <dl><dd><dl><dd>This has been shown in both humans and simians.</dd></dl></dd></dl> <ul><li><i>The microorganism must be re-isolated from the inoculated, diseased experimental host and identified as being identical to the original specific causative agent.</i></li></ul> <dl><dd><dl><dd>While not done in humans in the lab, genotyping has allowed scientists to trace known exposures and specific viruses, fulfilling the postulate.</dd></dl></dd></dl> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Other_claims">Other claims</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Other claims">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Those advocating HIV denialism often make a number of other claims regarding the relationship between HIV, AIDS, and anti-retroviral medication that are false or misleading. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="AZT">AZT</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: AZT">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>AZT (azidothymidine, zidovudine, originally marketed as Retrovir) is the first antiretroviral that was approved for use by HIV/AIDS patients. Objections to AZT still are routinely brought up by HIV denialists today, making reference to problematic high-dosage regimes that many early patients were put on, to the development of AZT resistance, or the difficult side effects of AZT. </p><p>While the points that HIV denialists make are sometimes true, this is all something of a historical <a href="/wiki/Red_herring" title="Red herring">red herring</a>. AZT does not usually form the basis for current antiretroviral treatment of HIV and AIDS. A mixture or 'cocktail' of drugs is now used, with each drug in the cocktail using a different biological method to prevent the duplication and spread of HIV. As medical science has advanced, the drugs used in antiretroviral treatment have been modified to reduce the side effects. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Testing">Testing</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Testing">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>HIV denialists claim that antibody tests used to diagnose HIV are unreliable and claim this is due to the use of antibody testing. Rapid HIV testing looks for the antibodies that the immune system builds up in response to the virus rather than looking for the virus itself. Rapid HIV antibody testing is used because it is fast and can be conducted by a nurse or even by the patient themselves (in the case of some home testing kits) rather than requiring expensive and time-consuming laboratory resources. An HIV diagnosis is not given on the basis solely of a rapid HIV test: if the rapid antibody test returns positive, it is always followed by a Western blot test. A positive Western blot confirms an HIV infection.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">[19]</a></sup> Numerous studies have been done that confirm that the false positive and negative rates from testing are extremely low. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Summary">Summary</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Summary">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>HIV/AIDS has been an example of the most spectacular medical and scientific work of the last 50 years. Shortly after the discovery of an illness, the cause was found, and successful drugs were developed. With the introduction of protease inhibitors and Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy in the late 1990s, hospital AIDS wards in the developed world closed down for lack of patients. </p><p>These achievements have been matched only by the massive public health failure in stemming the world pandemic of HIV. </p><p>While there is a <a href="/wiki/Scientific_consensus" title="Scientific consensus">scientific consensus</a> (backed up with ample scientific <a href="/wiki/Evidence" title="Evidence">evidence</a>) regarding the link between HIV and AIDS exists, some continue to doubt it. However, their faulty arguments fall flat in the face of facts, though this does not seem to concern them or divert them from their conclusions. Quite astonishingly, many denialists seem capable of clinging to their conviction that AIDS either does not exist or has nothing to do with HIV until the day they die — from AIDS.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21">[20]</a></sup> </p><p>Declassified <a href="/wiki/KGB" class="mw-redirect" title="KGB">KGB</a> documents have revealed that the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> had a little something going on known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_INFEKTION" class="extiw" title="wp:Operation INFEKTION" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Operation INFEKTION">Operation INFEKTION</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> which tried to pin the blame for AIDS on the US government.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22">[21]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/ACT_UP" title="ACT UP">ACT UP</a>, notably the history of the San Francisco chapter</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arthur_Robinson" class="mw-redirect" title="Arthur Robinson">Arthur Robinson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tom_Bethell" title="Tom Bethell">Tom Bethell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christine_Maggiore" title="Christine Maggiore">Christine Maggiore</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kary_Mullis" title="Kary Mullis">Kary Mullis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fran%C3%A7oise_Barr%C3%A9-Sinoussi" title="Françoise Barré-Sinoussi">Françoise Barré-Sinoussi</a>, one of the scientists credited with discovering HIV and its link to AIDS.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Germ_theory_denialism" title="Germ theory denialism">Germ theory denialism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/COVID-19_denialism" title="COVID-19 denialism">COVID-19 denialism</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li>See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS_denialism" class="extiw" title="wp:HIV/AIDS denialism" rel="nofollow">HIV/AIDS denialism</a>.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.aidstruth.org/">AIDS Truth</a>, website devoted to debunking HIV denial <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://aidstruth.org/denialism/denialists/">Living AIDS denialists</a> — AIDS Truth</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://aidstruth.org/denialism/denialists/dead_denialists/">List of denialists who have died from AIDS or AIDS-related symptoms</a> — AIDS Truth</li></ul></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0040256">HIV Denial in the Internet Era</a> by <a href="/wiki/Steven_Novella" title="Steven Novella">Steven Novella</a> and Tara Smith, great article summarizing HIV denial at PLoS</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=310459&sectioncode=26">The Fanaticism of Denial that Must Be Exposed</a>, Tara Smith</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.csicop.org/si/show/aids_denialism_vs._science/">AIDS Denialism vs. Science</a>, <i>Skeptical Inquirer</i></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://aliveandwell.org/">Alive and Well, HIV denialist site</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Which, in a field characterised by intense research and a rapidly-changing state of scientific knowledge, is a major red flag all by itself.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=HIV/AIDS_denialism&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:80%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/apartheid/nattrassp2.pdf">http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/apartheid/nattrassp2.pdf</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Pneumocystis pneumonia — Los Angeles. <i>MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep</i> 1981;30:250-252)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>New England Journal of Medicine</i>, Volume 344:1764-1772 June 7, 2001, Number 23</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Shilts, R. <i>And the Band Played On</i>. St. Martin's Press, 1987.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Peter H. Duesberg. Retroviruses as Carcinogens and Pathogens: Expectations and Reality. Cancer Research, Vol. 47, pp. 1199-1220.<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.duesberg.com/papers/ch1.html">link</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Peter H. Duesberg. HIV Is Not the Cause of AIDS.Science, Vol.241, pp. 514-517, July 29, 1988. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.duesberg.com/papers/ch2.html">link</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Duesberg, P., Koehnlein, C. and Rasnick, D. (2003) The Chemical Bases of the Various AIDS Epidemics: Recreational Drugs, Anti-viral, Chemotherapy, and Malnutrition. (J. Biosci. 28: 383-412)<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.duesberg.com/papers/chemical-bases.html">Link</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Ascher, M.S., Does drug use cause AIDS? Nature. Volume 362, 11 March 1993.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Ormaasen V, Sandvik L, Dudman SG, Bruun JN. HIV-related and non-HIV related mortality before and after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in Norway compared to the general population.Scand J Infect Dis. 2007;39(1):51-7.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://ddponline.org/flyer08.php">| Schlafly teaches world's greatest thinkers shock!</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Smith TC, Novella SP (2007) HIV Denial in the Internet Era. <i>PLoS Med</i> 4(8): e256. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040256</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-13">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03E3DC123AF93AA25750C0A9669C8B63&n=Top%2fNews%2fHealth%2fDiseases%2c%20Conditions%2c%20and%20Health%20Topics%2fAIDS">NY Times article on Mbeki's attitude towards AIDS pharmaceuticals</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-14">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/27/south-africa-aids-mbeki"><i>Guardian</i> — Thabo Mbeki's responsible for 330,000 deaths.</a> A press release for the <i>JAIDS</i> paper can be found <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2008-releases/researchers-estimate-lives-lost-delay-arv-drug-use-hivaids-south-africa.html">here</a> and the paper in <i>African Affairs</i> can be found <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://afraf.oxfordjournals.org/content/107/427/157.full.pdf+html">here.</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-15">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3280749.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3280749.stm</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-16">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.virusmyth.com/aids/hiv/mivoodoo.htm">http://www.virusmyth.com/aids/hiv/mivoodoo.htm</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-17">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://khn.org/morning-breakout/dr00037270/">Three-Fifths of Filipino Youth Believe They Are Immune to HIV/AIDS, Survey Finds</a> Kaiser Health News</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-18">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-02/philippines-has-highest-hiv-infection-growth-rate-in-asia/8766702">HIV: Philippines has highest infection rate in Asia-Pacific, United Nations says</a> (August 1, 2017, 8:10pm) <i>ABC News</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Gallo-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Gallo_19-0">18.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Gallo_19-1">18.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text">Gallo, R. and Luc Montagnier. The Discovery of HIV as the Cause of AIDS. <i>NEJM</i> 349:24, 2283-2285. December 11, 2003</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-20">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003538.htm">http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003538.htm</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-21">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.aidstruth.org/denialists-who-have-died/">AIDSTruth: Denialists who have died</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-22">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" 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