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The scientific evidence for HIV/AIDS
You are hereWho the denialists are
Stephen Davis, a former US Army "Physician's Assistant" is the author = of a=20 novel that also claims to be "the true story of how government lies and=20 incompetence, gross medical malpractice, and unbridled greed by a drug = company=20 cost 300,000 American lives in just ten years". Like most AIDS = denialists, he is=20 not a scientist and prefers his own websites to peer-reviewed journals = for the=20 dissemination of his crackpot theories. His own website = has a=20 bio that exposes his lack of appropriate medical and scientific = expertise.=20
Peter=20
Duesberg
Celia=20
Farber
Christine Maggiore died = at the=20 age of 52 on Saturday 27 December 2008. See our page on deni= alists=20 who have died for more information on her denialist activities.
Andrew=20
Maniotis
A member of the "Perth group", who despite tens of thousands of HIV = genetic=20 sequences in Genbank, claims that HIV does not exist. In the R v. = Parenzee=20 case, Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos was called to testify as an "expert = witness" for=20 the defense. The judge had this to say about Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos = and her=20 supposed expertise in his Reasons for Decision document:
Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos has no formal qualifications in medicine, = biology,=20 virology, immunology, epidemiology or any other medical disciplines. = She has=20 never treated or been directly involved in clinical trials of any kind = relating to any disease. Her duties at the Royal Perth Hospital are to = test=20 people for sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation. Ms = Papadopulos-Eleopulos=20 claims that she conducts research in the area of HIV/AIDS in her = private time.=20 It became clear that, when she spoke about research, she meant reading = various=20 medical papers about the research of others. Her experience with the = HIV virus=20 and with AIDS is limited to reading and critiquing the work of = researchers=20 involved in various studies. She purports to have expertise to speak = on the=20 subject of virology, epidemiology, electron microscopy, biology and=20 immunology. She has no practical experience in any of these areas. She = has no=20 formal qualifications in these disciplines. The evidence given by Ms=20 Papadopulos-Eleopulos about the Perth group demonstrates that she is = promoting=20 a cause. She is not independent. She is motivated to create a debate = about her=20 theory. The Perth Group will use whatever means available to promote = that=20 debate, including encouragement of persons such as the applicant, to = promote=20 their theories in courts of law.
The judge concluded: "I consider that her opinions lack any=20 credibility."
David=20
RasnickAccording to Wikipedia,=20
Dr. David Rasnick is a biochemist who has worked on proteases. He is, =
however,=20
best known for his AIDS denialism, and is a past president of the =
Group for=20
the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV/AIDS Hypothesis. The Cape =
High Court=20
found that David Rasnick, Matthias Rath and others conducted an =
unauthorised=20
clinical trial on people with HIV. The judgment can be found here.=20
Rath, Rasnick and others were responsible for a trial that recruited =
people=20
dying of AIDS to their health facilities in Cape Town and Durban. =
Patients were=20
given multivitamins as a treatment for AIDS instead of ARVs. =
Investigations by=20
the Treatment Action Campaign and journalists have shown that several=20
deaths occurred on the trial. Rath, Rasnick and the other trial=20
investigators published their results as a series of newspaper =
advertisements,=20
something that is considered unethical in scientific research. None of =
these=20
advertisements, which in any case portray data that is nonsensical, =
refer to the=20
deaths on their trial. For further details see The Wrongs =
of Matthias=20
Rath. Rasnick is a dishonest person who has put the lives of poor =
and=20
vulnerable people at risk with deadly consequences. His dishonesty =
extends to=20
claiming credit for the invention of protease inhibitors. David Rasnick =
is=20
identified on the denialist Alive and Well website=E2=80=99s advisory =
board list to be=20
the =E2=80=9CCreator of Protease Inhibitors.=E2=80=9D Similar claims are =
repeated on other=20
denialist websites and in denialist literature. To have created protease =
inhibitors would be something to boast about: they have saved the lives =
of=20
millions of people with HIV, and their invention was a breakthrough in =
HIV=20
treatment. But Rasnick shouldn=E2=80=99t get the credit. It is true that =
Rasnick worked=20
in a laboratory where some protease inhibitors were developed; it is not =
true=20
that Rasnick himself invented that class of drugs. He is not listed on =
any=20
patents that have been granted in respect of the use of these drugs, =
something=20
that would be true of an =E2=80=9Cinventor.=E2=80=9D Furthermore, the =
chemicals Rasnick helped=20
to develop are not used for the treatment of HIV infection =E2=80=94 =
though it would be=20
ironic if they were. Rasnick has also misrepresented his affiliation, =
calling=20
himself a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley. =
Rasnick=20
is and was no such thing. Dr. Peter Duesberg, who is a faculty member at =
Berkeley and a close friend of Rasnick, allowed Rasnick to use his =
laboratory.=20
The University has debunked this false claim:
I understand David Rasnick claimed an affiliation with our = department in an=20 article (The Citizen, April 7). David Rasnick has no affiliation with = the=20 University of California, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. = One should=20 obviously be concerned that someone who misrepresents his own = affiliation=20 might also misrepresent data and arguments in other areas. Richard = Harland,=20 Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley Dept of Molecular and Cell=20 Biology
Professor Harland has is exactly right. Denialists lie about who they = are and=20 who supports them: they cannot be trusted with the truth about HIV and = AIDS.
Matthias=20
RathMatthias Rath is the definitive charlatan. =
Armed with=20
huge amounts of money, megalomania, a lack of conscience and most =
importantly,=20
the support of South Africa's incompetent former Minister of Health =
Manto=20
Tshabalala-Msimang, Rath has sown confusion in South Africa about the =
treatment=20
and prevention of HIV. The Rath saga demonstrates how damaging=20
politically-supported AIDS denialism is. See this comprehensive page on =
Rath on=20
the Treatment Action Campaign's website:
Also see:
A member of the "Perth group", who despite tens of thousands of HIV = genetic=20 sequences in Genbank, claims that HIV does not exist. In the R v. = Parenzee=20 case, Dr Turner was called to testify as an "expert witness" for the = defense.=20 The judge had this to say about Dr Turner and his supposed expertise = regarding=20 HIV and AIDS in his Reasons for Decision document:
Dr Turner's knowledge of the subject matter is limited to = reading. He=20 has no formal qualifications to give expert opinions about the virus. He = has no=20 practical experience in the treatment of viral diseases. He has no = practical=20 experience in the disciplines of virology, immunology or epidemiology. = His=20 opinions are based on reading scientific literature, studying of = scientific=20 literature, and spending a considerable amount of time thinking. I = conclude that Dr Turner is not qualified to advance expert opinion about = virus=20 isolation, antibody tests, viral load tests, or sexual transmission of = the=20 virus. His knowledge of these subjects is limited to having read a = number of=20 publications. He relies entirely on his interpretation of various = studies in the=20 specialised disciplines of virology, epidemiology, microbiology, = immunology,=20 pathology or infectious diseases, in none of which he has qualifications = beyond=20 his medical degree. He has no practical experience, and has performed no = research which has been published. Apparently there is some = struggle=20 going on between the Perth Group and other denialists, as we see in this = post on=20 a denialist discussion group:
From: MSN Nickname DissidentSaint
Sent: 5/14/2007 7:44 PM
To Whom It May Concern,
This information was communicated to me by defense attorney Kevin = Borick=20 and confirmed by David Crowe who were both intimately involved with = the case.=20 Mr. Borick stated that The Perth Group were acting as prima donnas and = threatened to hold a press conference denouncing other dissenting = perspectives=20 if Duesberg or others were brought in as expert witnesses for the = defense or=20 if the case was expanded, as it should have been to address anomalies = in=20 epidemiology, etc, to include discussion of 'HIV' positivity = pathogenesis and=20 progression to 'AIDS.'
There is a separate page listing AIDS = Denialists Who=20 Have Died.
HIV denialists boast that they oppose the science-driven = =E2=80=9CAIDS orthodoxy,=E2=80=9D=20 and many people who distrust medicine find this self-ascribed rebel = stance=20 appealing. But the denialists paradoxically idealize the very = =E2=80=9Cestablishment=E2=80=9D=20 they claim to reject. This is manifested in a striking pattern of = exaggerations=20 and outright lies from denialists about their institutional positions,=20 scientific qualifications, and publications, and their false and often=20 fraudulent claims of support from legitimate scientists and doctors. = Some of=20 these lies are symptoms of denialists=E2=80=99 delusions that they are = knowledgeable and=20 important, while others are part of a systematic effort to deceive a = vulnerable=20 public. In both cases, the denialists=E2=80=99 lies about themselves are = a dimension of=20 their lies about HIV and AIDS.