VIRUSMYTH HOMEPAGE

NEW SCIENTIFIC HERESY
Is Disagreeing With Prevailing HIV Paradigm a Criminal Offense?

By Nicholas Regush

ABCNews.com 12 April 2000

As science appears to be the new "religion" in our culture, those deemed to be in disagreement with its "articles of truth" should expect they might be portrayed as heretics.

A brazen example of this attempt to squash unorthodoxy can be seen in the March 29 edition of Newsday. Reporter Laurie Garrett writes that Canadian virologist Mark Wainberg, president of the International AIDS Society, has suggested that actions of those skeptical of the prominent theory that HIV causes AIDS warrant criminal prosecution.

That's right, criminal prosecution. Wainberg believes those who argue that HIV is not the cause of AIDS are, in effect, promoting the spread of HIV and hampering efforts to prevent HIV infection.

Back to the Middle Ages

In other words, because there is a strong sense of scientific unity among AIDS researchers, those publicly questioning HIV science are in denial and are being obstinate in spreading counter views about how AIDS develops. They are therefore dangerous and must be shut down.

This tone and view is all too reminiscent of the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, which considered those who disagreed with its teachings to be a threat to society.

Because the mathematician Galileo Galilei agreed with the Copernican theory that planets move around the sun, he was forced to recant before the Inquisition and ended up spending the rest of his years in Florence under house arrest.

Centuries later, I'm sitting at my desk actually wondering whether I might be labeled a heretic and hauled before a Science Board.

Might writing a book questioning some of the prevailing science qualify for an new Inquisition?

The Argument Within

Last week, I was on the Canadian leg of a promotional tour for my book, The Virus Within, and found myself facing repeated verbal attacks by Wainberg. He followed me on at least six radio and television shows, sometimes pleading with the public not to buy my book. He referred to it as "dangerous," and "irresponsible."

My book focuses a lot of attention on a herpes virus named HHV-6, which scientists have shown can cause a lot of havoc in individuals with impaired immune systems. The virus was identified in 1986 by a team led by Dr. Robert Gallo at the National Cancer Institute. Gallo is the co-discoverer of HIV.

The book mainly charts the progress of HHV-6 research conducted largely by Milwaukee scientists and how this might help scientists understand the complex ways viruses behave in the body.

It focuses particularly in patients suffering from AIDS, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, and bone-marrow transplant difficulties.

Wainberg, apparently, is incensed that the book turns a sharp focus on HHV-6 as a potential contributor to AIDS, while raising serious questions about the current strong single focus on HIV as the cause of AIDS.

In a review of my book on April 1 in the Montreal Gazette, he said my book may appeal to "fringe elements" and that it "presents a series of misleading and simplistic assumptions about some of the most complex diseases known to occur."

A Broad Spectrum of Dissent

Fortunately, there is still a spectrum of opinion on most scientific matters that includes some voices of reason.

A couple of weeks ago I had lunch with virologist Luc Montagnier, the co-discoverer of HIV. We disagree strongly on the role of HIV in AIDS -- he does firmly believe that HIV causes AIDS, while I still think science has yet to prove the relationship.

Yet this week, Montagnier wrote to me and endorsed my book, saying I had made "a strong case for the need to broaden the scope of scientific inquiry into the complex nature of chronic illnesses and even AIDS itself."

In the spirit of public education, I have offered Wainberg the opportunity to take me on one-on-one in a public debate on HIV and AIDS with an impartial moderator. Such a debate could also be produced online. I suggested on at least eight or nine radio and TV shows in Canada that he should have it out with me.

He claimed that he didn't have the time. He then said that as president of the International AIDS Society he didn't want to give me any credibility.

The danger here is that these scientists hide away from real challenges because they set themselves apart from the more mundane aspects of daily inquiry, like the ongoing, freely expressed search for truth, open debate and self-correction that are required in scientific research.

Nicholas Regush produces medical features for ABCNEWS. In his weekly column, published Wednesdays, he looks at medical trouble spots, heralds innovative achievements and analyzes health trends that may greatly influence our lives. His latest book is The Virus Within.

VIRUSMYTH HOMEPAGE