[Letter to the Council of the National Academy of Sciences from Serge Lang]

Science, Gutknecht and Shalala

The hype on the new herpes virus was followed up in another article by Jon Cohen in Science, 17
February 1995.3
So the New York Times and Science articles are worth mentioning here as important examples of the
ongoing problematic and questionable journalistic treatment of HIV and AIDS (whatever AIDS is), as
well as examples of the fixation by some scientists, the New York Times and Science on the finding of a
virus, without bringing up other possibilities (e.g. toxic agents such as drugs).
(d) Joining the dissenters. Nevertheless, by bringing up a new virus as a possible cause of KS, and by
the evaluation "solid headway" concerning possible developments about such a "new virus", Altman
and Cohen became HIV dissidents. Since KS is a hallmark of "AIDS" according to the CDC definition,
it follows that Lawrence K. Altman, Jon Cohen, and the scientists whom they quoted as proposing a
"new virus" to be the cause of KS, joined those who dissent from the unqualified view that "HIV causes
AIDS".
~2. Nullifying the hype
An article by Jon Cohen titled "Controversy: Is KS Really Caused By New Herpesvirus?" (Science
268, 30 June 1995, pp. 1847-1848) continued spreading the unreliable mess coming from various scientists.
The article to a large extent nullified the hype in the 16 December 1994 and 17 February 1995 articles,
by reporting "deep reservations" about the role of the Herpes virus as a cause of KS, and also reporting
that "those misgivings had been muted -- until the AIDS-KS meeting" sponsored by the National
Cancer Institute, 5 and 6 June 1995 in Bethesda MD. Cohen reported that "Gallo was at the center of the
debate" and that "Gallo's withering critique of KSHV packed a punch". Oncologist Parkash Gill of
the University of Southern California is reported as saying that "she has failed to find DNA sequences
from KSHV in 11 KS cell lines", and Cohen quoted her: "I think the interpretation has gone beyond the
data." Cohen also wrote: "Other researchers such as NCI epidemiologist Robert Biggar, were
enthusiastic about the early evidence but now have doubts about the virus." On the other hand:
"Columbia University's Chang stuck by the data she and others have amassed that supports KSHV's
role in KS."
~3. Shalala's answer
HHS Secretary Donna Shalala's answer to Gutknecht's question concerning the cause of Kaposi's
Sarcoma asserted among other things: "The cause of Kaposi's Sarcoma appears to be a newly
discovered Herpes-like virus;..." Shalala gave no reference for this assertion. As we analyzed above,
the Science 16 December 1994 article on the role of a Herpes virus already contained some cautious
evaluations, mixed with some hype. Shalala's answer reflected only the hype, and took no account of
the subsequent 30 June 1995 article reporting on the "controversy". Her answer, occurring almost at the
same time as the "deep reservations...misgivings...Gallo's withering critique of KSHV...", provides a
typical example of the misinformation, contradictions and unreliable mess which arise from officials in
HHS, NIH, and CDC concerning HIV and AIDS. Of course, Gallo is not a government scientist any more
(he now has a lab in Maryland), but the "punch" he "packed" (according to Science) didn't knock out
Shalala or the scientific cohorts who helped her prepare the response to Gutknecht. Caveat emptor.
3"AIDS Mood Upbeat - For a Change", Science 267, 17 February 1995, pp. 959-960. This article reported on a
meeting sponsored by the American Society of Microbiology in Washington D.C., 29 January - 2 February 1995.
Cohen's article stated in part: "Among the more dramatic examples of progress was the strengthening evidence
linking a new virus to KS. Last December, Patrick Moore, Yuan Chang, and their collaborators stunned AIDS
researchers when they reported in Science that they had found a prime suspect....In spite of the accumulating
evidence, Moore and Change were reluctant to declare that they have found the cause of KS, but others at the
meeting were less restrained. Steven Miles, a KS researcher from the University of California, Los Angeles, who
initially had serious reservations about the putative new virus, enthusiastically embraced the new findings. 'Im
convinced that it is a herpesvirus, and it is very definitely the cause of Kaposi's sarcoma,' said Miles, whose lab has
replicated Moore and Chang's initial work."