Between 1984 and 1986, the number
of articles which depicted the
Virus-Hypothesis as a proven fact
increased from three to 62 percent.
Since then, the terms “virus”, “cause”, and
“AIDS” have become inseparable in the minds of physicians and journalists.
The world is convinced that AIDS is just a contagious plague, transmitted
sexually or though blood transfusions.
Scientific journalists around the globe were
enthralled. What a great story, this HIV had
become, and what a great man, this Gallo.
Only one day after the Heckler-Gallo-conference, the
chief medical reporter for the New York Times,
Lawrence Altman, was so convinced of the Gallothesis that he made up the
term “AIDS-virus” to use in one of his headlines. (Altman, 1984, C1).
Since then, the term has become a fixed idea,
making something that has yet to be proven.
By the way, Gallo’s investigation didn’t appear
in Science until weeks after his television appearance, making it
impossible for anyone to verify his work before his TV gig. Gallo promoted
himself as an infallible scientist and the journalists believed him. The
HIV-AIDS-Hypothesis quickly established
itself in the media.
…and all questions still unanswered
But no one, not even the so-called “HIV-discovereres” Montagnier or Gallo,
could plausibly explain why so few of the helper cells so important for
the immune defence are “befallen” even in terminal AIDS-patients.
Hence, they couldn’t explain the breakdown of the immune system with just
the HIV-Theory.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences already called attention
to this paradox in 1985 (Pahwa et al.,
1985, p. 8198-8202). That same year, Montagnier admitted in Annals of
Internal Medicine that the virus alone could not be responsible for AIDS
but that co-factors were necessary. This is the standpoint still taken
today. However, scientific journalism wasn’t interested in this point of
view.
It had already committed itself to the HIV-AIDSHypothesis. Sociologist
Steven Epstein analyzed how the leading scientific magazines reported on
AIDS
during this initial phase of understanding. He
noticed that, between 1984 and 1986, the number of articles which, quoting
Gallo’s Science publication, depicted the Virus-Hypothesis as a proven
fact increased from three to 62 percent.
“Expresion of doubt or scepticism – let alone support for other hypotheses
– were extraordinarily rare” (Epstein, 1996, p. 81-88).
In order to explain what caused AIDS, also
Lawrence Altman trusted only one source: the
CDC. Altman was one of the first generation of
students of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), founded in 1951 by
the CDC. The CDC saw itself confronted with the accusation of
being “so fixated on contagious causes that other possible causes like
chemicals or toxins were practically disregarded”
(Culliton, 1976, p. 1025; House Subcommittee
on Consumer Protection and Finance, 1976).
Basically, the CDC was totally unsuitable as an “objective” source of
information, yet all journalists blindly trusted it.
The CDC went to great lengths to promote a
“spirit of loyalty” for the EIS-program. Leading
scientific journalists were personally called by
CDC-officials every once in a while to relate the newest data of some drug
study or other – theconclusion always being a total success in the fight
against AIDS.
Altman, especially, received various scoops from the CDC-officials, which
he completely relied on, and admitted being influenced
by many years later. “He didn’t think it
was his paper’s place to announce something that the CDC was not confident
enough to publish,”
Altman was quoted in Science (Nr. 257,1992, p.1033).
Gods, Graves, and Scholars
In order to make interesting stories out of formulas and equations, one
needs kings and heroes, traitors and villains. Even scientific journalists
make use of them. “First came God, then came Gallo,” proclaimed Flossie
Wong-Staal, Gallo’s closest colleague and mistress, in the Los Angeles
Times in 1986 (Cimons, 1986, p. 16). One year
later, Sam Broder, head of the National Cancer Institute, was quoted by
the Washington Post with
the words “Einstein, Freud – I’d put him [Gallo]
on that list like that, I really would” (Remnick,
1987, W 10).