By Martin Delaney

August, 1999

Dear Friend:
In recent years, many stories have appeared in the media highlighting the views of individuals
who claim that HIV is not the cause of AIDS. These articles are always "good copy" in the sense
that they generate controversy and reader response. Many AIDS educators and public health
officials are concerned, however, that such views, presented without context or challenge,
undermine efforts to teach safer sexual behaviors needed for reducing the spread of HIV. Others
fear that they may discourage people from seeking useful treatment available from their doctors
and serve to confuse people about important medical matters which may affect their lives in the
most profound ways.

Readers of these articles are often impressed with the arguments made. Without cross
examination or knowledge of the underlying scientific questions, readers have very little basis
for evaluating what they hear. In our experience, few of today's readers have ever had the
chance to examine the information which led scientists to conclude that HIV is the cause of
AIDS. Indeed, the promoters of the alternative viewpoint show little awareness of this
information and rely instead on their own often distorted data set. The case for the causality
of HIV is largely old news which doesn't seem to warrant column space.

Younger readers in particular, because they have never seen the real scientific arguments, are
a particularly easy target for those who advocate alternative views. Unfortunately, it is also
a fact that new HIV infections are growing more rapidly among young gay men and young men and
women of color and are among the highest ever seen in the history of the epidemic. The message
of the HIV critics is an attractive one to this audience, as it relieves them of the fear of
HIV transmission. The most prominent HIV critic has often openly suggested that condom use and
safe sex is a futile and unnecessary gesture. It is critical that people hear the whole
story -- not just the unconventional view. This is especially true for an age group which gives
special value to things which carry the label "alternative."

To illustrate the seriousness of the issue, we offer a quote from a recent article: "One West
Hollywood man who has seen dissenter literature is enthralled with the idea that HIV does not
cause AIDS. "I did test positive," he says, "but I just tell my partners that I'm negative."
This man, who wishes to keep his name as anonymous as his HIV status, also keeps his dissident
views private. "To try to explain everything to someone you've just met is simply too
confusing. And since HIV is harmless being positive and negative is the same thing." He looks
up casually, "Isn't it?" (True Unbelievers by Stuart Timmons, New Age Journal,
November/December 1995).

In light of the fact that yet another book is being released by the HIV critics, we are
supplying the attached document for your information. It is an official summary of the evidence
collected over the last 15 years which has lead to the nearly universal consensus that HIV is
the primary cause of AIDS (on the NIH Web Site). It represents the work of hundreds of
scientists and references several hundred scientific papers on this matter. HIV critics make
the argument that "there isn't a single scientific paper which proves that HIV is the cause of
AIDS." In a sense, they are correct. The argument is made not by a single paper, but by
hundreds of them.

We believe this is a serious matter which deserves careful and serious consideration every time
it comes up. We urge you to read this document, as well as to consider the possible
consequences if people are mistakenly given the notion that the views for and against HIV
causality are in any way equally valid. As we see it, from a scientific viewpoint, the
alternative view is akin to the notion that the earth is flat, or the belief that creationism
is somehow a valid alternative to evolutionary science.

Sincerely,

Martin Delaney

Founding Director, Project Inform

Note: A paper copy with references is available by calling the Project Inform Hotline.

Our thanks to Project Inform, which provided this article to The Body.