HIV AND AIDS APPENDIX 2 DOES HIV CAUSE AIDS? |
HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS Appendix 2 Does HIV cause AIDS?
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Dr Richard Hunt Medical Microbiology MBIM 650/720 |
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WEB RESOURCES |
Despite the overwhelming evidence that HIV is the causative agent of AIDS, there are still many things that we do not know about the virus. Some people say that all that is necessary for AIDS is an HIV infection. Others invoke co-factors. A small but influential minority say that HIV is an unjustly maligned by-stander that is found in many immunocompromised states but is not the cause of the disease. The most outspoken of these are Drs Peter Duesberg and Kary Mullis. The following are the arguments raised by those who believe that HIV does not cause AIDS:
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WEB RESOURCES |
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Summary of the abundant evidence that HIV is the causative agent of AIDS: 1. Before the appearance of HIV, AIDS-like syndromes were rare, today they are common in HIV infected people 2. AIDS and HIV are invariably linked in time, place and population group 3. The main risk factors for AIDS are sexual contact, transfusions, IV drugs, hemophilia. These have existed for years but only after the appearance of HIV, has AIDS been observed in these populations 4. Infection by HIV is the ONLY factor that predicts that a person will develop AIDS 5. Numerous serosurveys show that AIDS is common in populations with anti-HIV antibodies but is rare in populations with a low seroprevalence of anti-HIV antibodies 6. Cohort studies show that severe immunosuppression and AIDS-defining illnesses occur exclusively in individuals that are HIV-infected 7. Persistently low CD4 counts are extraordinarily rare in the absence of HIV or another known cause of immunosuppression 8. Nearly everyone with AIDS has anti-HIV antibodies 9. HIV can be detected in nearly everyone with AIDS 10. HIV does fulfil Koch's postulates 11. New born infants with no behavioral risks develop AIDS if HIV infected 12. An HIV-infected twin will develop AIDS, while the uninfected twin does not 13. Since the appearance of HIV, mortality has increased dramatically among hemophiliacs 14) Studies of transfusion-acquired AIDS has repeatedly led to discovery of HIV in recipient as well as donor 15. Sex partners of HIV-infected hemophiliacs and transfusion patients acquire the virus and AIDS without other risk factors 16. HIV infects and kills CD4+ T cells in vitro and in vivo 17. HIV damages CD4 precursor cells 18. Body viral (HIV) load correlates with progression to AIDS 19. HIV is similar in its genome and morphology to other lentiviruses that often cause immunodeficiency, slow wasting disorders, neurodegeneration and death 20. Baboons develop AIDS after inoculation with HIV-2 that also causes AIDS in humans 21. Asian monkeys develop AIDS after inoculation with simian immunodeficiency virus Clearly, the correlations between HIV and AIDS are very striking indeed.
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