PR Newswire, 810 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019 - Thursday August 21 6:06 PM EDT

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The AIDS epidemic could have been prevented in the mid-80s if appropriate public health measures had been implemented, and the dissemination of misleading information and the efforts of the hierarchy of organized medicine to block implementation are responsible for the spread of this disease.

That's the thesis of Dr. Stanley K. Monteith in his study "AIDS: The Untold Story" published in the Summer 1997 issue of the Medical Sentinel, the Official Journal of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.

A board certified orthopedic surgeon and author of AIDS: The Unnecessary Epidemic (Covenant House, 1991), Dr. Monteith writes, "What most people do not realize is that all efforts to utilize public health measures to slow spread of the HIV epidemic have been thwarted."

The reasons? Dr. Monteith theorizes that most people don't understand the epidemic, and even those who do are afraid to speak out or have been blocked from introducing public health measures to stop further spread of this "modern-day plague." Dr. Monteith points the finger of blame at the media: "Tragically, most Americans do not understand the magnitude of the epidemic because our print and TV media have been selective in reporting matters dealing with the epidemic."

Dr. Monteith says that the scholarly works which have been published are misleading, and have only served to discourage public health measures which could have saved lives:

"In 1990, Regnery Gateway published Michael Fumento's The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS. In that book, Fumento assured his readers that there was no possibility of heterosexual spread of AIDS here in the United States ... Fumento crafted a convincing tale belittling those of us who wanted to introduce public health measures to block further spread of the disease."

"In 1994, Inside Story Publications released Why We Will Never Win the War on AIDS ... Dr. Peter Duesberg insists that there is no AIDS epidemic, and that most of those who are assumed to have died from AIDS have actually succumbed to the complications of drug usage, sexual stimulants, and AZT."

What should have been done to stop the spread of AIDS? Dr. Monteith writes: "Had physicians been allowed to introduce the public health measures needed in the mid-1980s we could have stopped further spread of the plague.

Suggested actions by public health officials by Dr. Monteith include:

* Non-mandatory confidential HIV testing of all office and hospital patients;

* Mandatory reporting of HIV infected to public health officials

* Mandatory premarital, pre-natal, and neonatal HIV testing

* Identification and removal of HIV-infected prostitutes

* Closure of gay sex clubs and bathhouses and brothels;

* Public youth education stressing chastity rather than use of condoms.

Why haven't those measures been implemented? Dr. Monteith blames the leaders of organized medicine:

"Tragically, almost all efforts by concerned public health officials and physicians to address the HIV epidemic have been thwarted. ... Year after year, the physicians voted to introduce effective public health measures, and year after year, those within the hierarchy and the bureaucracy of organized medicine worked to block implementation of those policies."

The spread of AIDS is a result of failed public policy. Concludes Dr. Monteith: "Almost everyone who acquires this disease today does so because of our nation's failure to implement the public health measures necessary to block further spread of the disease."

The Medical Sentinel carries rebuttals by Michael Fumento, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS, and Peter Duesberg, PhD, professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California at Berkeley and author of Inventing the AIDS Virus.

The Summer 1997 issue of the Medical Sentinel continues its track record of excellence in medical journalism, confronting tough and controversial medical themes, publishing scholarly works the others won't touch:

"The Perversion of Science and Medicine: The Battle Continues" -- Dr. Miguel Faria, Editor-In-Chief, exposes biased gun research promulgated by public health officials and published as objective research in the mainstream medical journals.

"Communist Use of American POWs as Human Guinea Pigs: The Korean Experience" -- Russell Blaylock, M.D. documents the egregious use of American POWs in grisly medical experiments in and after the Korean conflict. A subsequent article will examine the Communist Vietnamese abuses.

To receive a copy of the Medical Sentinel, call 800-635-1196.

SOURCE: Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc.

Copyright (c) 1997/PR NewsWire. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, PR Newswire, 810 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019.
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