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Working Group on HIV Infection in Female Prostitutes study,'’* | HIV/AIDS is not bidirectionally sexually transmitted. In the and a 1994 report on 53,903 prostitutes working in the Philippines whole history of medicine there has never been such a phenome- and tested between 1985 to 1992, confirm that non-IVDU prosti- non. Since microbes rely on person-to-person spread for their tutes remain virtually devoid of HIV infection. For example, in survival, it is impossible to claim from epidemiological data that the latter study, only 72 women (0.01%) were found to be HIV- HIV/AIDS is an infectious, sexually transmitted disease. Indeed, positive. Professor Stuart Brody, from the University of Tiibingen, has In studies where there appears to be a high incidence of HIV argued that physicians ignore the actual heterosexual data and amongst prostitutes, there are uncertainties that defy explanation. instead promote the politically correct idea that everyone is at For example, although "HIV has been present in the commercial risk. "Ideological knowledge about AIDS is far more likely to fil- sex work networks in the Philippines and Indonesia for almost as ter through society than scientific knowledge."” long as it has been in Thailand and Cambodia", the prevalence of HIV in the former is 0.13% and 0.02% respectively and 18.8% THE DIAGNOSIS OF "HIV" INFECTION and 40% in the latter.'* = The HIV antibody tests If these are accurate data, the discrepancy defies epidemiologi- There are two "HIV" antibody tests in common use: the ELISA cal explanation and has indeed baffled the experts, although the and Western blot (WB). The ELISA causes a colour change when latter postulate "behavioural factors", such as one country's prosti- a mixture of "HIV" proteins reacts with antibodies in serum from tutes and clients being considerably more or less sexually active a patient. In the WB, the "HIV" proteins are first separated along than another. However, one could also pose another question. What | THE HIV WESTERN BLOT TEST are the "HIV" antibody tests actu- | The HIV Western blot test consists of a thin nitrocellulose strip in which are embedded proteins claimed to be ally measuring? Be that as it | ed othe sip and, there are antibodies toa ariculr prati, tis band wil “ight up" ‘The HIV Wester may, since 5,674 (44%) and 4,360 blot is not standardised, and thus, around the world, different combinations of bands are considered positive. (34%) of the 12,785 Cambodian Hence a positive test in one country is not positive in another. An African would not be positive in Australia. A "HIV and AIDS Case Reports" till | person from the MACS would not be positive anywhere in the world, including Africa. Yet the HIV Western 31 December 1997 are listed as __| blot is considered to be highly specific and is considered synonymous with HIV infection. "Unknown" in gender and age i respectively,’ data collection, at HIV least by the World Health WESTERN 1 2 Organization in Cambodia, must BLOT ‘STRIP* be regarded as problematic. = Contradictions Why should HIV avoid non- > p160 p160/| p160/ drug-using prostitutes? If female a pl20 BANY | ANY) ANY | ANY pee pe é ANY ALL. prostitutes who do not use drugs p4i 2 ! 1 1 pal | pal 1 ° do not become HIV-infected despite being "seriously at risk of HIV infection", what is the risk of — infection to the majority of S p53 3 p32 ay Australian women who are nei- | S ther drug users nor prostitutes? According to data from the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, vanishingly little. A 989 study testing 10,217 blood samples of newborn babies ambi s evidence of - = (una 4 he terosen al inter UnPFO~ | Key: AFR = Africa:' AUS = Australia:: FDA = US Food and Drug Administration? RCX = US Red Cross:° tected heterosexual intercourse) | CHC = Us Centers for Disease Control:! CON = US Consortium for Retrovirus Serology Standardization’? ‘ound no babies and thus, presum- | GER = Germany; UK = United Kingdom; FRA = France; MAC = US Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study 1983-1992 ably, no mothers HIV-positive. ”° According to data presented in Lundberg et al.,? when the US FDA criteria are used to interpret the HIV If such women remain non-_ | Western blot, less than 50% of US AIDS patients are HIV-positive, whereas 10% of persons not at risk of AIDS infected, how do their non-drug- | are also HIV-positive by the same criteria. using, male heterosexual partners | Note: In February 1993, the US FDA relaxed its stringent criteria in order to "reduce the number of HIV-1 ecome infected with HIV? seroindeterminate Western blot interpretations"; that is, to increase the number of HIV-positive individuals.* AND] OR p24 | any p24} p24| 2 |p24 [any 1 } ot According to Simon Wain- _| Endnotes Hobson, a leading HIV expert 1. WHO (1990), "Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Proposed criteria for interpreting results from ac oti ", Western blot assays for HIV-1, HIV-2 and HTLV-I/HTLV-II", Weekly Epidem. Rec 65:281-298. rom the Pasteur Institute, a 2. Healy, D.S., Maskill, W.J., Howard, T.S. et al. (1992), "HIV-1 Western blot: development and assessment of testing virus's job" is to spread. "If you | to resolve indeterminate reactivity", AIDS 6:629-633. don't spread, you're dead". The | 3. Lundberg, G.D. (1988), "Serological Diagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection by Western Blot " aon . c Testing", JAMA 260:674-679. over eneing evidence from 4. Kleinman, S., Busch, M.P., Hall, L. et al. (1998), "False-positive HIV-1 test results in a low-risk screening setting of studies both in homosexual men | yoluntary blood donation", JAMA 280:1080-1083. and heterosexuals is that HIV/AIDS is not bidirectionally sexually transmitted. In the whole history of medicine there has never been such a phenome- non. Since microbes rely on person-to-person spread for their survival, it is impossible to claim from epidemiological data that HIV/AIDS is an infectious, sexually transmitted disease. Indeed, Professor Stuart Brody, from the University of Tiibingen, has argued that physicians ignore the actual heterosexual data and instead promote the politically correct idea that everyone is at risk. "Ideological knowledge about AIDS is far more likely to fil- ter through society than scientific knowledge."” THE DIAGNOSIS OF "HIV" INFECTION = The HIV antibody tests There are two "HIV" antibody tests in common use: the ELISA and Western blot (WB). The ELISA causes a colour change when a mixture of "HIV" proteins reacts with antibodies in serum from a patient. In the WB, the "HIV" proteins are first separated along NEXUS - 45 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1999