HIV and AIDS: Questions of Scientific and Journalistic Responsibility

HIV AND AIDS

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directly and indirectly, by factors other than HIV."
9. Destruction of T-cells? Even if patients have diseases unrelated to
immunodeficiency, the HIV-AIDS hypothesis asserts that HIV affects
the immune system in some fashion, for instance by destroying T-cells,
thus making a person more liable to develop these other diseases.
However the available evidence does not show that HIV destroys Tcells:
(a) There exist studies which show the existence of patients who test
HIV-positive, who have diseases such as Kaposi's sarcoma, dementia,
wasting disease, but who have a normal T-cell count, and have no
immunodeficiency. There exist similar studies when the patients are
HIV-negative. Duesberg gives examples of both in his article
(Pharmac. Ther. p. 228, referring to half a dozen independent studies,
listed in the bibliography). He concludes: "Thus, the assumption that
all AIDS diseases are caused by immunodeficiency is erroneous."
(b) As for HIV killing T-cells in laboratory cultures, Duesberg draws
attention to the fact that T-cells are notoriously difficult to maintain
alive, whether infected with HIV or not. He gives scholarly references
to the effect that they are not more difficult to maintain alive in the
presence of HIV than in the absence of HIV (Pharmac. Ther. p. 229). In
addition, HIV is mass produced for the HIV antibody blood test in
permanently self reproducing T-cells, in many laboratories and
companies.
10. A correlation between HIV and AIDS? Supporters of the
hypothesis that "HIV is the cause of AIDS" (whatever this means)
rely on what they see as a "correlation", that antibodies to the HIV
virus are present in some (many? all?) people having AIDS (whatever
AIDS means). However there are several reasons for reading whatever
"correlation" exists with caution.
(a) I have already commented on the circularity of the CDC
definition, which makes the correlation 100% if this definition is
accepted; and on the problem of having meaningful statistics concerning
the association of HIV with the multiple AIDS-defining diseases in
the CDC list if a clinical definition is taken.
(b) Some people in the risk groups among which the actual disease is
prevalent engage in practices whose effect is to increase the