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those with lupus, 60% of patients with hepatitis B, 35% with Unlike HIV/AIDS experts, who claim the specificity of the HIV
epatitis C—all non-HIV, non-AIDS diseases—have antibodies antibody test is 99.999%, one manufacturer of HIV antibody tests
to the "HIV" p24 "core" protein." Until 1990, an unknown num- states in the package insert: "At present there is no recognized
ber of the 4,954 homosexual men in the MACS were diagnosed standard for establishing the presence or absence of HIV-1 anti-
HIV-infected on the basis of an antibody to the "HIV-specific" body in human blood. Therefore sensitivity was computed on the
p24 protein, that is, with one WB band. Why do not all similar _clinical diagnosis of AIDS, and specificity based on random
tests prove infection with HIV? Why are gay men with a single {healthy blood] donors...""* The latter were chosen as de facto
p24 band infected with a deadly virus, while biliary and liver dis- non-HIV-infected for the purposes of determining how many tests
ease patients with the same band are not? Why were the criteria are false positives. However, by this "reasoning", since the
for diagnosing HIV infection set less rigorously for homosexual majority of HIV-positive individuals are healthy, they cannot be
men and Africans? And if HIV antibodies are specific and HIV infected. Thus the WHO" predictions of a global pandemic are
infection is "for life", why do patently untrue.
reformed drug addicts, leading
healthy lives, lose their HIV anti-
Editor's Notes:
odies?"” One manufacturer of HIV NEXUS 6/06, Oct-Now 1998) the
Although all HIV experts accept antibody tests states in the authors continue their "HIV" exposé,
cross-reactivity in HIV antibody test- . a questioning the scientific "proof" at the
ing, in 1993 the New South Wales | package insert: "At present there ff heart of mainstream AIDS research and
Department of Health int ted th H H di ing the "dissident" vi int i
discovery of "HIV" antibodies in | (8 NO recognized standard for terms of politics and public health
jour women as “compelling evi- establishing the presence or Pore of the endnote references in
dence" for transmissi f HIV fi . . *
horaoserual man during vouren absence of HIV-1 antibody In Part 2 of this article are to be found in
a homosexual man during the course " Part 1, published last issue (NEXUS
of minor, office surgery in 1989." human blood... 6/03, June-July 1999).
However, there was no proof that the
man was HIV-infected at the time of About the Authors:
surgery, or that any of the four + Valendar F. Turner is a Consultant
women were operated on after the man. Emergency Physician. He can be contacted at the Department of
This report remains the only one of its kind in the world, and it | Emergency Medicine, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia,
immediately led to the establishment of a special committee of the telephone +61 (0)8 9224 2662, fax +61 (08) 9224 7045, e-mail
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons which wrote to all , website .
College Fellows, inviting submissions upon the matter. But, © andrew Melntyre is a Melbourne-based freelance writer and social
rather than seizing upon the rarity of the event and following commentator. He has written extensively on the gender wars, and takes
advice urging a formal scientific enquiry into whether "HIV" anti- _q particular interest in social and scientific issues normally avoided or
bodies are caused by infection with a retrovirus,“ the College distorted by the mainstream press for reasons of political expediency or
accepted these data as proof of cross-infection but concluded, cultural orthodoxy. He appears from time to time on radio and televi-
"The mode of transmission is unknown".!" sion. He can be contacted care of NEXUS.
Endnotes (continued) in the United States", NEJM 323:213-218. contacts: correlation between HIV-1 cross-reac-
128. Wooldridge, Dr M., Australian Federal 134. Burke, D.S., Brundage, J.F., Redfield, R.R. tivity and antibodies to lipoarabinomannan", J.
Minister for Health and Human Services, Letter et al. (1988), "Measurement of the false positive Infect. Dis. 169:296-304.
to Senator C. Ellison, 1997. rate in a screening program for human immun- 141. Mason, A.L., Xu, L., Guo, L. et al. (1998),
429. Phair, J., Jacobson, L., Detals, R. et al. deficiency virus infections", NEJM 319:961- "Detection of retroviral antibodies in primary bil-
(1992), "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 964. iary cirrhosis and other idiopathic biliary disor-
Occuring Within 5 Years of Infection with 135. Dax, E. (1994), "The HIV Western blot: ders", Lancet 351:1620-1624.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1: The Reply to letter", Med. J. Aust. 160:808. 142. Lange, W.R., Ball, J.C., Adler, W.H. et al.
Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study", J. Acquir. 136. Kion, T.A., Hoffmann, G.W. (1991), "Anti- (1991), "Followup study of possible HIV seropos-
Immun. Defic. Syndr. 5:490-496. HIV and anti-anti-MHC antibodies in alloim- itivity among abusers of parenteral drugs in
130. Melbye, M., Begtrup, K., Rosenberg, P.S. et | Mune and autoimmune mice", Science 1971-72", Pub. Health Rep. 106:451-455.
al. (1998), "Differences in susceptibility to AIDS 253:1138-1140. 143. Chant, K., Lowe, D., Rubin, G. et al.
development: A cohort study of Danish and 137. Genesca, J., Jett, B.W., Epstein, J.S., Shih, (1993), "Patient-to-patient transmission of HIV in
American homosexual-bisexual men, J.W.K., Hewlett, |.K., Alter, H.J. (1989), "What private surgical consulting rooms", Lancet
1981-1995", |. Acq. Immune Def. Syndr. Hum. do Western Blot indeterminate patterns for 342:1548-1549.
Retrovirol. 18:270-276. Human Immunodeficiency Virus mean in ElA- 144. Turner, V.F., Papadopulos-Eleopulos, E.
131. Lemp, G.F., Porco, T.C., Hirozawa, A.M. negative blood donors?", Lancet ii:1023-1025. (1994), "Patient-to-patient transmission of HIV in
et al. (1997), "Projected incidence of AIDS in 138. Kozhemiakin, L.A., Bondarenko, |.G. a surgeon's private rooms: Invited deposition to
San Francisco: The peak and decline of the epi- (1992), "Genomic instability and AIDS", the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons", at
demic", J. Acg. Immune Def. Syndr. Hum. Biochimiia 57:1417-1426. .
Retrovirol. 16:182-189. 139. Strandstrom, H.V., Higgins, J.R., Mossie, 145. "Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1.
132. CDC (1993), "1993 Revised Classification K., Theilen, G.H. (1990), "Studies with canine Qualitative Enzyme Immunoassay for the
System for HIV Infection and Expanded sera that contain antibodies which recognize Detection of Antibody to Human
Surveillance Case Definition for AIDS Among human immunodeficiency virus structural pro- Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 (HIV-1) in
Adolescents and Adults", MMWR 41:1-19. teins", Cancer Res. 50:5628s-5630s. Human Serum or Plasma", Abbott Laboratories,
133. St Louis, M.E., Rauch, K.J., Peterson, L.R., 140. Kashala, O., Marlink, R., llunga, M. et al. Diagnostics Division, Abbott Park, Illinois, USA,
Anderson, J.E., Schable, C.A., Dondero, Tw. (1994), "Infection with human immunodeficien- 1988.
(1990), "Seroprevalence rates of human immun- cy virus type-1 (HIV-1) and human T-cell lym- 146. WHO, "The Current Global Situation of
odeficiency virus infection at sentinel hospitals photropic viruses among leprosy patients and the HIV/AIDS Pandemic", Geneva, 1995.
48 - NEXUS
One manufacturer of HIV
human blood..."
AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1999
/Nexus - 0605 - New Times Magazine/pages/0049/image.png)