Hello.

For some time I have had a vague awareness of the existence of people who believe that HIV/AIDS is a myth. I have dismissed them as crackpots. However, I was surprised to discover last night that there are a considerable number of organizations throughout the world which hold the view that there is no such thing as the HIV virus and, therefore, no such thing as AIDS!

They say that instead there are 20 to 30 diseases which are brought on by other factors. From this they actively advise people to say no to HIV treatment. They seem to believe that more people die from the toxicity of anti-HIV drugs than from opportunistic infections and illnesses deriving from a poor immune system caused by recreational drug use, or stress, or poor nutrition, or other things.

They cite a long list of authorities supporting their belief but I note that many of these belong to various forms of sideline quackery. However, there are several Nobel Laureates in there - as well as, for instance, specialists at US & UK universities and teaching hospitals!

One site I found is that of a London-based group called "Heal". On their front page they laud Thabo Mbeki for his statement that he knows nobody in South Africa with AIDS. (Mbeki apparently holds that the 600 dying every day in his country are dying for other reasons. It seems he denies that 6 million of his citizens are infected with HIV. The Heal front page also justifies the group's belief with a metaphor involving the Leaning Tower of Pisa. However, if you analyse it carefully you see it is complete gobbledegook! However, it's the sort of thing depressed HIV+ people might easily accept. It has the verbal trickery about it of the born-again preacher. Another rather worrying site is called AliveAndWell. This was founded by that HIV+ woman in America who ditched her medication and who then lost her young daughter, some time back. It is believed the daughter was HIV+, was never tested, and was therefore not given any treatment - all because of the mother's adherence to the notion that there is no such thing as HIV.

Anyway, I have detected that there are people out there who are actively and passionately proselytising against the use of HIV treatment. So, as I am sure you are aware there are hundreds of uneducated, vulnerable, and gullible young people out there with HIV who may well be sucked in by this. It seems to me it could be construed as criminal to cause a person to avoid a course of treatment that is likely to lengthen his or her life. One thing these zealots seem to forget or ignore is that in the 80's metropolitan hospitals often had a number of large wards which were full of young people dying of AIDS but now, because of more and better HIV medications, those wards no longer exist. Yes, the medications are toxic but in most cases they inarguably lengthen lives.

The movement against HIV/AIDS, though small, is very strong and it appears it has caused some people to ditch their meds. Another thing is that belonging to such a group probably gives isolated individuals with HIV a feeling of belonging etc.

Here are just three of the "AIDS dissidents" sites.

http://www.heallondon.org http://www.aliveandwell.org/ http://www.virusmyth.net/aids/

If this is something that has not been addressed already by The Body, I think it should be addressed now and strongly because people ARE being convinced by these groups to not take the current orthodox treatments.

Thank you.

The scientific evidence showing that HIV causes AIDS is overwhelming. The evidence that antiretroviral (ARV) medications improve the course of HIV infection and AIDS is also overwhelming. After the introduction of the ARV cocktails into general medical practice in 1995 in the U.S., there was a dramatic decrease in deaths due to AIDS, as well as a large decrease in complications such as opportunistic infections, and a vast improvement in the quality of life of those in treatment.

You are right to bring these websites and their misinformation to light.