The Relationship Between the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome: Executive Summary (Draft)

DRAFT

8. Some people have all the symptoms of AIDS but do not have HIV infection.
Immunosuppression has many potential causes. Individuals who take
glucocorticoids and/or immunosuppressive drugs to prevent transplant rejection
or for autoimmune diseases can have increased susceptibility to unusual infections, as do individuals with certain genetic conditions, severe malnutrition and
certain kinds of cancers. There is no evidence suggesting that the numbers of
such cases have risen, while abundant epidemiological evidence shows a
staggering rise in cases of immunosuppression among individuals who share
one characteristic: HIV infection.
9. AIDS does not fulfill Koch's postulates.
Koch's postulates, formulated before the discovery of viruses, stipulate that an
infectious agent must be found in all cases of the disease, the agent must be
isolated from the host's body, the agent must cause disease when injected into
healthy hosts, and the same agent must once again be isolated from the newly
diseased host.
Koch's postulates have been tragically fulfilled with laboratory workers and
health care workers accidently exposed to HIV, and in cases of AIDS
developing after HIV seroconversion in blood transfusion cases. The postulates
have also been fulfilled in baboons inoculated with HIV-2 and in macaques
exposed to SIV.
10. AIDS is not exploding into the population as one would expect if caused by
HIV, a new virus.
HIV is a modestly infectious virus, not readily contagious like influenza. The
fact that AIDS cases have stabilized in certain populations is most likely due to
the success of prevention messages. A more relevant issue is whether the
spread of HIV and the appearance of AIDS correlate, and they do.
11. The spectrum of AIDS-related infections seen in different populations proves
AIDS is actually many diseases not caused by HIV.
As the immune system of an HIV-infected individuals weakens, he or she
becomes susceptible to the particular viral, fungal and bacterial infection
common in the community. For example, HIV-infected people in certain
midwestem and mid-Atlantic regions are much more likely than people in New
York City to develop histoplasmosis, which is caused by a fungus. A person in
Africa is exposed to different pathogens than an individual in an American city.
For example, HIV-infected Africans have a higher incidence of tuberculosis and
cryptococcosis as opportunistic infections, as compared to North Americans and
Westem Europeans, in whom POP is more common. Children may be exposed
to different diseases than adults.

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