AIDS denialism: The lie that has killed millions

One out of every six people in the world living with HIV resides in South Africa. This staggering amount is especially resounding when accounting for the considerable efforts made by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC).

The TAC was responsible for mass mobilisations to demand access to anti-retroviral (ARV) medications at no cost for all South Africans. The TAC movement was initially spurned by, and therefore vehemently opposed by, the residing president at the time: Thabo Mbeki.

Epidemiological studies have confirmed that Mbeki’s policies towards HIV are directly responsible for 300,000 deaths and 35,000 mother-to-infant HIV infections during his presidency.

Under the advice of a group of rogue scientists, Mbeki directed his nation against the scientific consensus by stating that AIDS was not caused by HIV.

While these views may have been respectable during the 1980s when the science surrounding HIV was still new, Mbeki’s position, collectively known as AIDS denialism, caused appalling consequences within South Africa.

His position culminated in an exceedingly delayed rollout of ARVs, despite intense pressure from the TAC.

As such, South Africa’s HIV prevalence starkly contrasts with Brazil, which experienced similar HIV rates but began ARV rollouts in the late 90s. Brazil is now widely regarded a success story in the battle against HIV and has one of the lowest prevalence rates in the Third World. As such, many regard AIDS denialism as a form of genocide, which makes it horrifying that this ideology still exists in South Africa.

Joachim ‘Kim’ Cools is a Belgian immigrant living in the rural Zulu community of Kwa-Ngcolosi. Kim is a prominent figure within the small village; he’s the resident doctor at Kwa-Ngcolosi’s only clinic, despite having no formal medical training.

Cools’ position is reinforced through the production of ‘umlingo wanagcolosi’; a juice purporting to have cured 400 people of AIDS.

As a show of transparency, Cools has posted his recipe on Facebook, allowing virtually anyone to recreate his juice and heal themselves from AIDS. Strangely, all of those cured by Cools have chosen to remain anonymous.

To reinforce his claims, he states that he has personally injected himself with HIV-positive blood on three separate occasions.

However, this is where Cools’ story starts to get dicey. He confirms that he’s been unaffected by these HIV injections, stating that HIV is a disease of the mind, created by the CIA as a form of population control and since he doesn’t believe in HIV, the virus hasn’t infected him.

His HIV conception is only a small part in an elaborate and grandiose ‘conspiracy theory’ story he tells involving deception within economies, politics, religion and science.

More importantly, Cools is a firm believer in the notion that HIV does not cause AIDS, that AIDS is caused by poor nutrition and poverty, the same position held by Mbeki.

Despite this, he still sells his juice (ZAR80 per bottle) and asks his patients to adhere to a strict diet of organic fruits and vegetables.

Furthermore, he openly broadcasts his beliefs about ARVs: Sinister and toxic constructions by pharmaceutical corporations designed to keep infected individuals sick, despite keeping 700,000 people within South Africa alive.

These are just a few of the many corollaries with Cools’ dictum, the extent of which is limited by the length of this article.

Despite appearing to be motivated by positive intentions and his notwithstanding contradictory beliefs regarding the existence of HIV, Cools’ message contains several misleading and ultimately, life-endangering errors.

Cools’ contention involving the toxicity of ARVs is misleading. Fundamentally, every medication used by man is inherently toxic, and the specific toxicity of a drug is formally assessed through clinical trials.

Toxicity level is carefully balanced with the medicinal benefit when considering medical approval. While all ARVs have some negative side-effects, these side-effects are mitigated by the subsequent decrease in viral load and increase in CD4 count in patients who use them.

ARVs have consistently been shown to reduce illness, viral load, and death irrespective of race, gender, age, and sexual orientation.

And while ARVs are subject to unpleasant side-effects, these effects are greatly outweighed by the risks of not treating the HIV infection.

Perhaps Cools’ most brash declaration is the distinction that HIV does not cause AIDS. This belief is created under two pieces of evidence: First, the associated belief that AIDS is caused by poor nutrition and poverty and, secondly, the claim that HIV has not been shown to cause AIDS and that the HI virus itself has never been physically discovered.

Cools’ first assertion is radically misleading; poverty and malnutrition are significant predictors of the progression from HIV to Aids, they are not causes.

Living in poverty is a risk factor for HIV transmission: The poor are often uneducated about HIV and are much less likely to have access to appropriate routes of transmission prevention such as condoms and adequate medical services, thus they experience higher rates of disease.

Furthermore, Cools’ view that HIV has not been shown to cause Aids and the lack of physical evidence for a virus presents additional fallacious conceptions.

Firstly, numerous studies have shown that almost every person diagnosed with AIDS has HIV present. Obviously, there have been rare cases of misdiagnoses, as occurs with any other disease. Additionally, the virus has been photographed under electron microscope on several occasions and these images are readily accessible.

Finally, in a study of unprecedented extent, a survey of 230,179 AIDS patients within the US revealed 299 HIV sero-negative individuals.

A further evaluation of 172 of these 299 showed that 131 were actually sero-positive, while 34 died before their sero-status could be confirmed. A study of this sheer size should certainly uphold as evidence of the direct connection between HIV and AIDS.

There is no other way around it, our present understanding of HIV and AIDS has resulted from the efforts of thousands of scientists and research going back 25 years; the connection simply cannot be ignored. No disease in the history of man has ever been studied in such depth.

Although nowhere near as influential as Mbeki, Cools’ message is still a dangerous one. Cools has the potential to facilitate the unnecessary transmission of and death resulting from HIV.

Pseudo-practitioners such as Cools assert corruption within the legitimate field of science and seek to promote their unjustified alternative theories.

And while alternative theories reveal weaknesses within current approaches and also drive scientific innovation, these pseudo-scientists ignore the rules governing legitimacy and choose to appeal to fears and misperceptions.

AIDS denialism is a slap in the face to the memory of all those who have died of AIDS, as well as to the dignity of the survivors, families and friends. It is utterly outrageous that these individuals are able to propagate such dangerous messages and not be subject to any form of social or legal actions.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* David Labentowicz is Health Sciences and Psychology student from Ottawa, Canada who had the chance to visit South Africa in May 2010 and study HIV/AIDS at a local level.
* Oliver Meth is a journalist and writes in his personal capacity.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at Pambazuka News.