AIDS: Science at a Crossroads

WATCH OUT FOR
Accurate terminology
Do not confuse HIV and AIDS. HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, is the virus which leads to
AIDS, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The vast majority of people who are infected with
HIV (also known as HIV positive) do not have AIDS and may show no symptoms of disease, although
most of them will develop AIDS over a period of time. Terms such as "AIDS-infected" should be
avoided - it is unclear whether this means someone infected with HIV or ill with AIDS.
Treat with scepticism any claims to have found a cure or vaccine for AIDS
In many countries, physicians, traditional healers or alternative therapists have claimed to have found
a cure or vaccine for AIDS. None of these claims has ever been proved, although some treatments have
proved effective in relieving some of the symptoms associated with AIDS, such as diarrhoea or thrush.
If you hear of a healer or doctor in your area claiming to have found a cure for AIDS, try not to report
it uncritically. Reporting such claims can give false hopes to infected or ill people, and encourage
unscrupulous practitioners who stand to make money from these claims. Ask local AIDS support
organisations, national or regional AIDS control authorities and respected medical or scientific sources
for advice, comment and criticism to include in your articles if you report the claims.
Even minor scientific advances can be magnified by inaccurate, or ill-informed reporting. For example,
claims that a new compound "destroys HIV in the test tube" is not sufficient to proclaim it as a potential
cure - bleach destroys HIV in a test tube, but it is not usable as a treatment for people with HIV or
AIDS.
If vaccine trials are being carried out in your country:
What benefits will your country gain from participation? Are participants voluntary? Are they fully
informed and do they fully understand the nature of the research? Are participants also given
information on how to avoid HIV infection, for instance by using condoms? Is the strain (or subtype)
of HIV the vaccine is designed for the most common in your country? If a successful vaccine is
developed, has anything been done to ensure that your country can afford it? Contact your National
AIDS Control Programme for information.
A Panos briefing on HIV vaccine trials is available from Panos London (see below for details)
TB and STDs - HIV's dangerous associates
Is investment directed at tuberculosis (TB) prevention programmes in your country? What about the
prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), which increase the risk of contracting HIV?
If AIDS is not considered to be a problem in your country, is any information available on the
prevalence of other STDs within the country? HIV is primarily sexually transmitted - if other STDs
are present, the conditions which favour the spread of HIV are already there.
This briefing document is published as a service to the media. It is intended to stimulate debate and may be freely
reproduced, in whole or in part, with acknowledgement. If you use this briefing to assist in writing an article, please send
us a cutting. The Panos AIDS Programme is financially supported by the Swedish International Development Authority,
the Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ford Foundation. Specific funding for this briefing was provided by
CAFOD and the UK Overseas Development Administration. The views expressed do not necessarily represent the views
of these or other donors to Panos. It was written by Phyllida Brown and edited by Laurence Zavriew, Panos.
Other Panos publications: Panos distributes a monthly features service for newspapers and magazines, the
environment and development magazine Panoscope and WorldAIDS magazine which reports on AIDS and

development. These are available free to newspapers, radio stations and journalists. For more information contact Juliet
Heller (press officer), Panos, 9 White Lion Street, London N1 9PD, UK. Panos features are available on electronic mail.
The Panos email conference is panos.news located at gn.apc.org. (GreenNet London). Contact David Escolme on
[email protected] for further information.