AIDS IS NEITHER AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE
NOR IS SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED

By Roberto Giraldo

Continuum Spring 1998

There are many scientific facts which show that the so-called human immunodeficiency virus (‘HIV’) does not fulfil the epidemiological and biological requirements, nor the common sense requirements, to be the cause of the human immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).(9-14, 26, 31-33, 36, 37, 44, 52, 59)

‘HIV’ is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause AIDS, and antibody positivity does not always precede the development of the syndrome.(11,32) This is demonstrated by thousands of AIDS cases that are ‘HIV’ negative and a host of people that are absolutely healthy and have never developed AIDS, even though they are diagnosed HIV positive. (2,13,20,31,32,49) HIV is not a pathogenic agent, and for this reason it cannot explain the immunological alterations, nor the pathogenesis, nor the natural history, nor the different clinical forms within the groups of people that develop AIDS. (9,13,14,29,30,32,41,42,59) What is called HIV has never been isolated as an independent, free viral entity.(60) There are facts that question the existence of HIV as a real virus.(44)

Since it has never been proven that ‘HIV is the cause of AIDS’, investigators who enthusiastically defend HIV as the cause of the syndrome have proposed a vast variety of agents as helpers or “co-factors” of HIV in the genesis of AIDS.(21,48) However, these “co-factors” are by themselves causal agents of immunodeficiency and may generate AIDS with or without the diagnosis of ‘HIV’.(12- 14,32,59) I prefer to call the “co-factors” immunological stressor agents.(34)

The new real circumstance that surrounds all the groups of people that develop AIDS with the greatest frequency is the exaggerated exposure in the last decades to a variety of stressor agents against the immune system, that can have a chemical, physical, biological, mental or nutritional origin.(12,28,29) Coincidentally AIDS appears in various and distant groups of people in the second half of the twentieth century, at the time when the immune system of human beings is already saturated and has seriously deteriorated, due to involuntary exposure (and many times voluntary) to immunological stressors.(28,32) The capabilities and functions of the immune system are neither infallible nor infinite. They have limits. The increment of stressors in the human ecosystem is putting in serious danger the preservation of our own species.(28,34) AIDS is an alarm sounding.

The distribution of these stressors varies within the groups of people that develop the syndrome and this fact is the explanation for the different clinical forms of AIDS that occur in these groups.(30,32) The immunological stressor agents create immuno-toxic or immunogenic effects, or both, which generate a state of oxidative stress on immunocompetent cells and metabolic reactions of the immune system.(29,56,57) Stressor agents also generate oxidative stress on other body systems.(29,34) Progressive and continuous deterioration of the immune system causes a deficit of the defence, surveillance and homeostasis immunological functions, with the subsequent development of infections, neoplasias, and metabolic alterations.(29,30) The severe weakening of the immune system and of the entire body eventually causes death.(30) By contrast, all the definitions for AIDS created by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are subjective, arbitrary, and include other less severe immunodeficiencies that are not AIDS at all.(6,7)

This conception of toxic pathogenesis and of the natural history of AIDS allows new forms of treatment and prevention that have positive repercussions on individual and community health.(13,30) Drug treatments like AZT, the protease inhibitors and other similar antiretrovirals, must be eliminated from the treatment and prevention of AIDS, because they are immunotoxic agents and rather than producing wellness, they can generate AIDS.(15,32,33,46,47)

The prevention, control, and eradication of AIDS are easily possible and they depend on avoiding exposures to immunological stressors.(12,13,30,32) The current programmes for preventing AIDS, based mostly on what is called “safe sex”, with generalised and indiscriminate distribution of condoms, rather than achieving any benefit promote the risks of promiscuity, a potentially toxic lifestyle that helps undermine the immune system.(32,34,62) In the same way, the programmes of providing free “clean syringes” (“without HIV”) to drug addicts stimulate addiction to drugs and indirectly promote the traffic of drugs.(13,32) All the psychoactive drugs that are introduced to the body are potent immunotoxic agents.(12,34) This toxic hypothesis of AIDS solves the problems that the infectious hypothesis [HIV/AIDS] has not yet solved, not to mention the millions of dollars invested in research, prevention, and patient care within the infectious conception of the syndrome.(9-12,32,33)

The so-called ‘AIDS test’ is neither sensible nor specific for detecting past or present infection with an HIV.(39,41,42,49,58) Without reason it is used for diagnosis, or to decide the medica-tions to treat or prevent this syndrome.(2,38,41,42,49,58) ‘HIV antibody’ positivity may act as a marker for immmunodefi-ciency, but is not generative of AIDS.(13,16,56,57) HIV on the contrary could be an effect of the pathogenesis of this syndrome.(29,31) There is scientific evidence that suggests that stressors of the cells of all species can work as inductor agents of viruses and virus-like parti-cles.(5,8,25,31,32,43,51,54,61,68)

The error over the etiology of AIDS was committed in part due to microbiologic prejudice in the mind of researchers, health professionals, journalists, and the public at large.(31) This prejudice comes from the exaggeration of the germ theory of disease promulgated by Pasteur and Koch, which brought many benefits to the medical field at the time. Unfortunately, today they continue to think as at the end of the last century - that all is infectious, that all is contagious, and that it should be a microbe that causes every-thing. The world was prepared by a century of panic over microbes to mistake the etiology of AIDS. It was not possible to avoid it.

Another contribution to the error about the cause of AIDS is the failure in research methodology to fulfil epidemiological require-ments.(1,3,4,17-19,23,24,35,40,45,50,53,55,63-67,69-75) None of the postulates on which the infectious hypothesis of AIDS is based fulfil the requirements of the research method.(2,9-14,27-34,56-59) None of the bases of the HIV-AIDS hypothesis has been demonstrated at an objective level.(2,9-14,27-34,56-59) They are theoretical assumptions, created by the minds of those who generate and defend that hypothesis.(22,38,48) Practically the entire world has become accus-tomed to believe all that we are told by the so-called men of science. Currently, the critical and questioning capabilities of ‘the people’ are null. They do not ask for the necessary proofs for the affirmations that can look objective.(31) The worst epidemic that the contemporary world suffers is an epidemic of crises in the scientific method.(27) It is more extensive than the AIDS epidemic. There will be more consequences unless we take a pathway paved with an authentic objective research methodology.

The scientific community has been wrong many times in this century, by considering as infectious diseases that are not -pellagra, scurvy and beriberi.(14,31) The error currently made with AIDS has a larger magnitude due to the catastrophic repercussions on thousands of people that suffer from this toxic syndrome.(32,33) Guilt for the error made with AIDS falls on a few researchers and health institutions of the United States government. The majority of people in the world simply believed the so-called men of science. Analysis, understanding and solution of the error will force inter-national medical authorities to rediscuss their tactics and strategies in the health care of people. This will lead to questions, investiga-tions and solutions to the unfair forms by which men socially relate amongst themselves in modern society, which in the end are the reason for the existence of AIDS. Let us go back to Hippocratic medicine. Let us divulge and stimulate the discussion about the cause of AIDS.

Roberto Giraldo is a Specialist in Internal Medicine from the University of Antioquia, Colombia. He graduated with distinction from the University of London after obtaining a MSc in Clinical Tropical Medicine. For 30 years he has been dedicated to clinical, academic and research activities in infectious diseases in Colombia, USA and Europe. He currently works in the Clinical Immunology section of the Department of Microbiology, University Hospital, New York City. He has been an independent researcher into AIDS for the past 15 years.

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For references 26 - 75 see page 51 AIDS and Stressors by Roberto A. Giraldo, MD. 205 pages, ISBN 958 9458 03 3 Published by Fundación Arte y Ciencia, Medellin, Colombia, Tel + 57 4 216 08 66 Fax + 57 4 216 05 97