Are there racist underpinnings to the common notion that AIDS originated in Africa? The orthodox medical establishment holds that unusual and promiscuous sexual behavior by Africans has led to an epidemic increase in HIV infections. Moreover, they say, AIDS was probably transferred to humans from interactions with African monkey blood. Are these views true? According to Gary Null, Ph.D., one of the leading proponents of the "dissident" view on AIDS, these "orthodox" views have no legitimate scientific foundation, and have been encouraged by racist stereotypes. In their seminal book, AIDS A Second Opinion, Null and his colleague James Feast researched many of the myths concerning the origin and treatment of AIDS. Here, Null eloquently summarizes the dissident view of AIDS and its scientific basis, particularly how it applies to Africa.
The results are startling, and a direct challenge to the orthodox view. For instance, if HIV is an "African" disease that affects mostly blacks, why has it largely skipped over wealthier blacks and affected mostly those that are poor? Also, could it be that the many Africans exhibiting symptoms of AIDS--such as poor immune function and other opportunistic diseases--are not so much the victims of HIV as they are of an impoverished environment that includes malnutrition, unclean water, parasites, disease and stress? Null marshals the facts to show that the HIV "epidemic" in Africa has been largely overstated. For instance, statistic sampling of African prostitutes has been improperly extrapolated to the entire African population. Further, tests for the HIV antibody are deceptive, as the level of the HIV antibody, like many other antibodies, can be cross-linked and elevated in response to other much more common diseases prevalent throughout Africa, such as malaria and tuberculosis. The consequences, Null points out, can be dire. Billions of dollars are spent on toxic AIDS drugs that further destroy the immune system while the primary diseases, such as malaria and tuberculosis, which led to the false HIV diagnosis in the first place, remain totally untreated. Even worse, these diseases flourish, while the immune system, already weakened by poverty and illness, is further decimated by dangerous AIDS drugs.
According to Null, the false common assumptions about HIV and its treatment have led to an unmitigated disaster of the largest human proportions. Whatever your view is on HIV and AIDS, you can not help but be challenged by the research amassed by Null in this critically important series on AIDS in Africa.
