VIRUSMYTH HOMEPAGE

SOUTH AFRICAN PANEL ON AIDS IS DIVIDED OVER HOW TO DEAL WITH THE DISEASE

AP 5 April 2001

Dissidents say HIV testing and use of AIDS drugs should be halted in Africa, with dissidents urging a halt to HIV testing and the use of AIDS medications.

President Thabo Mbeki established the advisory council last year and came under fire for including revisionist theorists, many of whom question whether HIV causes the disease, the effectiveness of AIDS medication and whether AIDS exists at all.

The 134 page report said the panel's two factions had a "fundamental disagreement" on the cause of AIDS and, as a result, had emerged with "different sets of recommendations."

The dissidents urged the suspension of all HIV testing and said, AIDS medication no longer should be prescribed. They also recommended that the government devote its resources to eradicating malaria, tuberculosis and other "prominent AIDS defining diseases." Among their recommendations for preventing AIDS were detoxification of the body through massage therapy, music therapy, yoga and spiritual care, and the use of supplements such as ginseng, Chinese cucumber, aloe vera, garlic and echinacea.

The mainstream scientists urged HIV testing and the use of anti- retroviral drugs. "A stronger emphasis should be placed on sex education," they said, including more widespread condom use and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

Both sides agreed on the need to continue to improve social conditions, reduce poverty and improve nutrition - factors that Mbeki has said would help curb the spread of the disease. About 4.7 million South Africans are infected with HIV.

Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South Africa's health minister, said the government would not change its AIDS policy because of the report. "Pending the outcome of further research, the debates of the panel have not provided grounds for the government to depart from its current approach to the HIV/AIDS problem, which is rooted in the premise that HIV causes AIDS," she said in a news release.

AIDS activists have asserted that Mbeki's flirtation with the dissident AIDS theorists damaged prevention efforts, giving South Africans an excuse not to practice safe sex.

VIRUSMYTH HOMEPAGE