The Bay Area Reporter - June 16, 2000
Terry Beswick

Most AIDS experts on a local level have for years simply ignored so-called HIV dissidents in the hope that in time the small fringe movement would go away.

But since gaining an audience earlier this year from South Africa President Thabo Mbeki -- who gave credence to the question of whether HIV is in fact the cause of AIDS by appointing several U.S. dissidents to a new presidential advisory panel on AIDS -- the small HIV denialist movement has been galvanized into more aggressive action both internationally and on the domestic front.

Last week, the San Francisco HIV Prevention Planning Council, which prioritizes local HIV prevention efforts, decided it was finally time to take a stand. Calling the dissidents' central message that HIV does not cause AIDS "anti-science mythology," the council joined an increasing chorus of front-line AIDS workers and scientists who are speaking out publicly, by adopting a letter that states HIV causes AIDS.

Steven Tierney, director of HIV prevention for the San Francisco Department of Public Health and a co-chair of the HPPC, said that he hopes the council's statement will be the "beginning of a continued discussion of the issue."

"Prior to this time, it was like, 'It's controversial and inflammatory and so let's not discuss it,'" Tierney said. "I think it goes to the basic premise of why we have an HPPC, which is to decrease the number of new infections in the city."

"The HPPC believes that there is overwhelming proof that HIV causes AIDS," reads an open letter to the community approved by the 36-member council last Thursday, June 8. "The HPPC believes that statements which deny that HIV causes AIDS have the potential to harm individuals by discouraging them from seeking accurate information and taking care of themselves based on that information."

The HPPC letter encourages people to research the facts for themselves on the pathogenesis of the disease, or how infection with HIV can lead to symptomatic disease and death.

"By leading to the destruction and/or functional impairment of cells of the immune system, notably CD4 [or T] cells, HIV progressively destroys the body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers," explains a fact sheet published on a National Institutes of Health Web site (www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/howhiv.htm).

Councilmember Sister Mary Mae Himm of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a 15-year veteran of AIDS activism, said that he decided to propose that the HPPC take a formal stand on the issue after he witnessed first-hand the potential fallout from the dissidents' message.

"What prompted it was that a friend of mine seroconverted," Mae Himm told the Bay Area Reporter. "And as soon as he found out he was positive, he realized that he'd been listening to idiots, but it was too late to do anything about it.

"I thought it was time we did something about it." Locally, other than David Rasnick and Peter Duesberg, the two Bay Area dissidents who were appointed to the South African panel, the most outspoken HIV denialist group has been ACT UP/San Francisco, which for several years has espoused membersÆ beliefs that HIV prevention campaigns are nothing more than a government plot to thwart gay sex.

Most recently, the group raised the ire of AIDS organizations nationally when they mailed letters to all members of Congress urging the elimination of all federal funding for AIDS-related programs. Stating that "current services based on the erroneous hypothesis that HIV causes AIDS are fundamentally flawed," the letter encouraged congressmembers to vote against the upcoming reauthorization of funding for the Ryan White CARE Act and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

The HPPC vote was not unanimous, however, with three votes opposed and one abstention. Co-chair Maria Rinaldi voted against it, she said, because she was concerned that local HIV dissidents had not been given sufficient opportunity to present their case before the panel.

Rinaldi emphasized, however, that her opposition to the HPPC letter should not be interpreted to suggest that she does not believe HIV causes AIDS.

"I do believe that," Rinaldi, director of HIV prevention at Instituto Familiar de la Raza, told the B.A.R. "But I voted no because they have never been given the possibility of presenting here."

Panelist Bill Barnes, former AIDS policy adviser to Mayor Willie Brown, also voted against Mae Himm's resolution, explaining that he was concerned that not enough public notice had been given that the issue would be debated last Thursday.

"When I received the agenda for the meeting in the mail it did not include this item, nor did I receive a copy of the draft letter," he said.

"I firmly believe that HIV causes AIDS," Barnes added. "The reality is that every year about 500 gay and bisexual men become infected with HIV in San Francisco, and focusing an inordinate amount of time on the question of whether HIV causes AIDS is not productive for anyone."

Mae Himm, who is HIV-positive himself, said he tries to understand the motivation of gay men in the dissident camp.

"I think this is such a horrible time," he said, "and they want to have some control."

000616
BR000603

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2000. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2000. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .