HIV Causes AIDS (May 2001)
Adopted by the Canadian AIDS Society Board of Directors, May 2001.
The documents below summarise the abundant evidence that HIV causes AIDS and addresses
some of the specific claims of those who assert that HIV is not the cause of AIDS, and may assist you in responding to some arguments presented by those who assert that there is no link between HIV and AIDS. Also attached is the
Durban Declaration, signed by 5,228 physicians and scientists from over 84 countries, including over 125 from Canada, affirming that HIV is the cause of AIDS.
History of the Controversy
The argument that HIV does not cause AIDS first attracted broad public attention in an article, published in Cancer Research in 1987, written by Professor Peter Duesberg of the University of California in Berkeley. Duesberg's contentions were rejected by scientists, but attracted attention in the mainstream press and found resonance with specific groups outside the scientific community. For example, his attacks on the 'AIDS establishment', whom he accused of perpetuating the myth of AIDS for their own ends, were appealing to a public who already had a growing sense of disenchantment with the medical community more broadly. Similarly, his attribution of AIDS to specific lifestyle choices found favour with parts of society, especially those critical of the gay movement.
At the time that the controversy started, there were still some questions unanswered on the precise mechanisms of HIV disease. Ten years later there is a more complete understanding of how HIV causes AIDS.
Myths and Conspiracy Theories Surrounding Disease
There are many reasons why people may subscribe to myths or conspiracy theories about disease. AIDS, in particular, is a disease that lends itself to the perpetuation of myths and to different forms of denial. For example, myths that deny the existence of AIDS can respond to people's emotional needs or to a desire to reassure themselves that they can avoid changing their behaviour. HIV is transmitted through behaviours that are essentially private.
Visible symptoms of the disease only appear after many years, making it easier for people not to accept that HIV will eventually cause AIDS. Then again, the idea of reexamining the evidence regarding the causes of AIDS may provide hope that if a cause other than HIV is identified, a cure might more readily be found.
However, given that the Durban Declaration, signed by 5,228 physicians and scientists from 84 countries, including over 125 from Canada, who are dedicated to the control of HIV/AIDS, affirms that HIV is the Cause of AIDS, and given that UNAIDS documentation states there is overwhelming evidence that HIV causes AIDS, supported by findings from numerous laboratory, clinical research and epidemiological studies;
The Board of Directors of the Canadian AIDS Society adopts the position that there is clear-cut, exhaustive and unambiguous evidence that AIDS is caused by either HIV-1 or HIV-2, and that this evidence meets the highest standards of science.