A declaration of dissent

The declaration, which should have come after discussions by experts on the issue, turned out to be positioned against the other camp of scientists, who have asked for evidence for the existence of the HIV virus. It says there was clear-cut evidence on the existence of the HIV virus and that it caused AIDS. But it stops short of giving scientific evidence.

Signed by 5,000 scientists, the declaration also indirectly hit out against the South African government, which has supported this stand. South African President Thabo Mbeki had in April set up a panel of experts to sort out the issue of HIV. He not only questioned the theory that the virus caused AIDS, but also the use of certain drugs in treating AIDS.

Predictably, the latter saw the declaration as a personal affront. 8220;South African President Thabo Mbeki will consign the declaration to the dustbin if it was presented to him,8221; his spokesman was quoted as saying before the conference. Hence, the declaration went without being discussed.

The Durban Declaration, which was published in the journals Lancet and Nature emerged as a counter-attack to an article written in the journal Nature by the most vocal spokesperson of the No-HIV virus theorists, Peter Deusberg. It was also a reaction to Mbeki8217;s move to set up investigations into the existence of the virus.

Earlier, the document was being circulated through the internet among scientists and the medical community for supportive signatures, irrespective of whether the signatories had any research background on HIV. A letter of appeal for support from scientist Simon Wain Hobson, a member of the organising committee of the Durban Declaration, says: 8220;Many of you will say that HIV/AIDS is not your area. However, over the years you have heard enough of the arguments to understand the association.8221;

8220;Peter Deusberg is back in the columns of Nature and Science. His thesis is that HIV doesn8217;t cause AIDS and that there is no need to screen bood, or treat patients,8221; adds the declaration.

Expressing concern over Mbeki consulting dissident scientists who reject the existence of HIV, the declaration continues: 8220;The situation has taken a serious turn in that President Mbeki of South Africa is consulting him Desuberg. The consequences are being felt in Asia and Africa.8221;

Dissident scientists had scoffed the declaration. In a letter mailed to supporters as well as journalists, these scientists said the mainstream scientists have not been able to produce evidence of the existence of the HIV virus before the Mbeki panel. Instead they have constructed this 8220;lame and cowardly justification for their fraud.8221;

At the conference, Mbeki had subtly made his point despite criticism from all quarters about his scepticism about the existence of the HIV virus. In the opening speech of the conference, Mbeki, quoting a 1995 report by the World Health Organisation, proclaimed that poverty rather than HIV was the world8217;s biggest killer.

Days before the conference started, Mbeki also held the second meeting of the panel of experts on AIDS, which included scientists Peter Deusberg and David Rasnick, both of whom argue that poverty and malnutrition and not HIV cause AIDS. Scientists who believe that HIV virus exists and causes AIDS were also on the panel. While the Durban Declaration has fallen by the wayside, the world will now be watching the outcome of the discussions between scientists and Mbeki on this issue.

Excerpted from the Durban Declaration, July 2000

The evidence that AIDS is caused by HIV-1 or HIV-2 is clear-cut, exhaustive and unambiguous. This evidence meets the highest standards of science8230; viz:

Persons who received HIV-contaminated blood develop AIDS whereas those who received untainted or screened blood do not.
Drugs that block HIV replication in the test tube also reduce viral load and delay progression to AIDS.
Persons who are malnourished who already suffer other infections or who are older tend to be more susceptible to development of AIDS following HIV infection.
However, none of these factors weaken the scientific evidence that HIV is the sole cause of AIDS. There are many ways to communicate vital information about HIV/AIDS. But to tackle the disease everyone must first understand that HIV is the enemy.

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