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rfmcdonaldReading the ever-interesting blog Siberian Light, I've recently discovered that the theories of Peter Duesberg that HIV is unconnected to AIDS might well be popular in Russia's scientific establishment. (Read this English-language interview with Duesberg in the Moscow News.) This might indeed explain why Russia's government has taken so long to react to a serious public health threat.
The argument's ridiculous, of course. African AIDS victims aren't known for their abundant access to poppers and anti-HIV medications, for instance, as Konstantin in his original blog posting overlooks the fact that anyone who proved that there was no connection between HIV and AIDS would have become rather famous. The different elements of the Duesberg hypothesis were explored in the first decade of the epidemic; scientists settled upon HIV because it was, in fact, the causative factor. I'd think it difficult to explain, for instance, the development of AIDS in infants born to HIV-infected mothers or in recipients of HIV-tainted blood with this thesis, while the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa has created entirely new patterns of illness and mortality which simply weren't there in the past. While Duesberg, in his Moscow Times interview, is quite right to point out that anti-HIV medications have serious side effects, he's wrong to thereby infer that the very existence of these side effects proves that the drugs are worse than the cure. If only we lived in that parallel universe where drugs, drugs used to treat illness, had no side-effects.
Andy concludes that "the reason the Russian government 'spends kopecks on anti-AIDS projects but accepts international grants eagerly' is that it can. The Russian people, intentionally or not, remain remarkably ignorant about the threat that HIV/AIDS could pose to them, to their families. And, because they don’t know how much of a threat it is, they don’t demand that they government take notice of the issue. And, as long as that remains the case, the government - or, more specifically, a few people within the government, will make a killing." Unfortunately, as I wrote last year, it seems likely that the general Russian population will suffer terribly because of this horribly flawed policy choice.
The argument's ridiculous, of course. African AIDS victims aren't known for their abundant access to poppers and anti-HIV medications, for instance, as Konstantin in his original blog posting overlooks the fact that anyone who proved that there was no connection between HIV and AIDS would have become rather famous. The different elements of the Duesberg hypothesis were explored in the first decade of the epidemic; scientists settled upon HIV because it was, in fact, the causative factor. I'd think it difficult to explain, for instance, the development of AIDS in infants born to HIV-infected mothers or in recipients of HIV-tainted blood with this thesis, while the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa has created entirely new patterns of illness and mortality which simply weren't there in the past. While Duesberg, in his Moscow Times interview, is quite right to point out that anti-HIV medications have serious side effects, he's wrong to thereby infer that the very existence of these side effects proves that the drugs are worse than the cure. If only we lived in that parallel universe where drugs, drugs used to treat illness, had no side-effects.
Andy concludes that "the reason the Russian government 'spends kopecks on anti-AIDS projects but accepts international grants eagerly' is that it can. The Russian people, intentionally or not, remain remarkably ignorant about the threat that HIV/AIDS could pose to them, to their families. And, because they don’t know how much of a threat it is, they don’t demand that they government take notice of the issue. And, as long as that remains the case, the government - or, more specifically, a few people within the government, will make a killing." Unfortunately, as I wrote last year, it seems likely that the general Russian population will suffer terribly because of this horribly flawed policy choice.
