Ok so today is world AIDS day, and I've decided to explore a little into the origins of this most terrible disease.
Everyone knows about AIDS, yet it is appalling to note how little people know about its origins. Here are a couple of popular theories that might be your answer to the question: How did AIDS originate?
It is widely agreed upon that HIV has its origins in SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) which is prevalent in Chimpazees. So we just need to theorize how SIV jumped from chimps to humans.
Cut Hunter Theory
Tribes in Africa have been known to hunt chimpanzees for meat. On one such hunt, a hunter or group of hunters were injured while cutting chimpanzee meat which led to chimpanzee blood to mix with their own, and thus they were infected.
Perverted Hunter Theory
One hunter, from the group above, disobeyed all laws of human attraction, and had sex with a chimp hottie who happenned to be infected with SIV...ironically a hard-on isn't all he got.
Before we dive into the analysis of the above:
1. AIDS is fairly recent. The first case was noted the 1959.
2. HIV wasn't isolated until much later.
3. SIV has been around for much much longer, and humans and Chimpanzees have lived around each other for 10s of thousands of years.
While the above theories are plausible, it cannot by any stretch of the imagination explain how HIV is prevalent worldwide with 40 million people infected. Mathematically and probabilistically we cannot arrive at a reasonable progression which can lead us from a few infected in the late 1950s in Africa, to 40 million infected today in every corner of the globe.
Oral Polio Vaccine Theory
In the 50s Polio was the scourge of humanity and every researcher in the field was racing to find the vaccine that would save the world. Hilary Koprowski was one of these scientists. He worked at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, and was banned from doing further polio research because he tested his vaccine on school kids in NY (which led to serious sideeffects). This did not stop the man. He teamed up with some Belgian scientists and went to the Belgian Congo (Zaire), and continued his research with plentiful servile human lab subjects.
A brief primer on vaccine preparation at the time -
Kidney cells are taken from lower monkeys (Macaques usually), and are cultured in blood serum (also from the monkey), so they they remain a living mass of cells. The polio (or any other virus for that matter), is introduced into this tissue substrate, and it proceeds to infect and multiply amongst the living cells. This infected tissue is then attenuated (weakened) and the result is an Attenuated Live Vaccine (for the virus that you introduced into the substrate). Sadly, with all the improvements in biotechnology, the way vaccines are made today isn't much different from the process described above.
Koprowski discovered that he could manufacture vaccines in large quantities by capturing local chimpanzees from the sourrounding forests, and use their kidneys to make the tissue substrate. He proceeded to set up a huge facility in Leopoldville where chimps were systemetically captured and killed to make tissue substrate. This was far easier and cheaper than importing macaque monkeys from India or the Philippines. Sadly for humanity, these chimpanzees were infected with SIV (SIV in chimps is harmless, they natuarally develop antibodies, and successfully cure themselves of SIV).
In 1958, 1.8 million people were vaccinated with Koprowski's polio vaccine in and around Leopoldville. A few years later, the first cases of AIDS were discovered, in and around the exact spots where the vaccinations had taken place.
The above is a paraphrased summary of the book called "The River" by Edward Hooper which was subsequently made into a highly controversial documenraty movie called The Origins of AIDS. What I've mentioned above is backed up by evidence in the form of written accounts, archival video tape, taped interviews with Koprowski's colleagues and subordinates, interviews with the locals who worked in the labs, and interviews with Chimpanzee hunters who were employed by these labs.
What I'm about to dive into now is unsubstantiated. It is speculation, and remains to be proven.
Koprowski had struck the goldmine of vaccine production with the chimpanzee tissue substrate mechanism. He communicates with Wistar and Wistar starts producing vaccines with Koprowski's substrates. One such vaccine they work on is the Hepatitis C vaccine. In the late 70s massive TV campaigns are run informing the public about the dangers of Hepatitis C emphasising that the gay community is particularly suceptible. Several vaccination clinics are conducted, and thus AIDS starts in the US, as a gay man's disease in Philadelphia.
Everyone knows about AIDS, yet it is appalling to note how little people know about its origins. Here are a couple of popular theories that might be your answer to the question: How did AIDS originate?
It is widely agreed upon that HIV has its origins in SIV (Simian Immunodeficiency Virus) which is prevalent in Chimpazees. So we just need to theorize how SIV jumped from chimps to humans.
Cut Hunter Theory
Tribes in Africa have been known to hunt chimpanzees for meat. On one such hunt, a hunter or group of hunters were injured while cutting chimpanzee meat which led to chimpanzee blood to mix with their own, and thus they were infected.
Perverted Hunter Theory
One hunter, from the group above, disobeyed all laws of human attraction, and had sex with a chimp hottie who happenned to be infected with SIV...ironically a hard-on isn't all he got.
Before we dive into the analysis of the above:
1. AIDS is fairly recent. The first case was noted the 1959.
2. HIV wasn't isolated until much later.
3. SIV has been around for much much longer, and humans and Chimpanzees have lived around each other for 10s of thousands of years.
While the above theories are plausible, it cannot by any stretch of the imagination explain how HIV is prevalent worldwide with 40 million people infected. Mathematically and probabilistically we cannot arrive at a reasonable progression which can lead us from a few infected in the late 1950s in Africa, to 40 million infected today in every corner of the globe.
Oral Polio Vaccine Theory
In the 50s Polio was the scourge of humanity and every researcher in the field was racing to find the vaccine that would save the world. Hilary Koprowski was one of these scientists. He worked at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, and was banned from doing further polio research because he tested his vaccine on school kids in NY (which led to serious sideeffects). This did not stop the man. He teamed up with some Belgian scientists and went to the Belgian Congo (Zaire), and continued his research with plentiful servile human lab subjects.
A brief primer on vaccine preparation at the time -
Kidney cells are taken from lower monkeys (Macaques usually), and are cultured in blood serum (also from the monkey), so they they remain a living mass of cells. The polio (or any other virus for that matter), is introduced into this tissue substrate, and it proceeds to infect and multiply amongst the living cells. This infected tissue is then attenuated (weakened) and the result is an Attenuated Live Vaccine (for the virus that you introduced into the substrate). Sadly, with all the improvements in biotechnology, the way vaccines are made today isn't much different from the process described above.
Koprowski discovered that he could manufacture vaccines in large quantities by capturing local chimpanzees from the sourrounding forests, and use their kidneys to make the tissue substrate. He proceeded to set up a huge facility in Leopoldville where chimps were systemetically captured and killed to make tissue substrate. This was far easier and cheaper than importing macaque monkeys from India or the Philippines. Sadly for humanity, these chimpanzees were infected with SIV (SIV in chimps is harmless, they natuarally develop antibodies, and successfully cure themselves of SIV).
In 1958, 1.8 million people were vaccinated with Koprowski's polio vaccine in and around Leopoldville. A few years later, the first cases of AIDS were discovered, in and around the exact spots where the vaccinations had taken place.
The above is a paraphrased summary of the book called "The River" by Edward Hooper which was subsequently made into a highly controversial documenraty movie called The Origins of AIDS. What I've mentioned above is backed up by evidence in the form of written accounts, archival video tape, taped interviews with Koprowski's colleagues and subordinates, interviews with the locals who worked in the labs, and interviews with Chimpanzee hunters who were employed by these labs.
What I'm about to dive into now is unsubstantiated. It is speculation, and remains to be proven.
Koprowski had struck the goldmine of vaccine production with the chimpanzee tissue substrate mechanism. He communicates with Wistar and Wistar starts producing vaccines with Koprowski's substrates. One such vaccine they work on is the Hepatitis C vaccine. In the late 70s massive TV campaigns are run informing the public about the dangers of Hepatitis C emphasising that the gay community is particularly suceptible. Several vaccination clinics are conducted, and thus AIDS starts in the US, as a gay man's disease in Philadelphia.
Labels: AIDS, origin of AIDS
29 Comments:
Extremely informative!
I had always thought that AIDS made the jump from chimps to humans when humans had eaten infected chimps. But this explanation makes a lot of sense.
The theory on chimps and a polio vaccine in Africa seems plausible, but I doubt the Hepatitis C speculation.
Thanks a lot for the information. How much safer are modern Hepatitis C vaccines then? Now it bothers me even more that everyone entering a college in the US (or at least in Cali) must get a HepC vaccine. Plan to get an HIV test soon just in case.
I always thought that AIDS was a man made sickness in one way or another. This explination makes a lot of sense.
There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C. Only for Hepatitis B. The theory is ridiculous because even the premise is false.
I watched a show on some Nova or PBS show about Australia having a small vermin problem. They engineered a retro(?) virus. They found a gene that caused the vermin to become sterile. They then attached this gene to a harmless virus and infected the vermin population.
The attempt when horribly wrong when the vermin contracted an immune system deficentcy disease and began dying.
I immediately started to wonder how similar this was to HIV. The show never asked this question. If no one has, maybe they should.
Was HIV man-made?
You forgot a theory.
Try this one...
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/culshaw1.html,
I think it is pretty much accepted now that SIV made the jump from chimps to humans. The debate it seems is still exactly how that leap occurred.
This is somewhat bs, those are colonized approaches to looking at AIDS that put the fault on the Africans. Who's to say that some British colonizer didn't have sex with a monkey and then have sex with an African women or rather rape.
Thanks for the info, but your demonizing Africa as a content and purporting fiction as fact.
This is really wrong disinformation - the age of viruses can now be determined. HIV existed long before the 50's.
Conspiracy theories abound but sometimes shit just happens. t/j makes great comments on this point.
It happened like the flu happens - only HIV is a much more dangerous virus.
Why are people always trying to find someone to blame for HIV? It's not an "African" thing; It's not a "mad scientist" thing; it's nature working without regard for the health and benefit of mankind. Newsflash - humans are not the center of the known universe.
Check the information from Treatment Action Group (TAG). http://www.thebody.com/tag/tagpage.html
It helps no one to spread rumors about one of the worst illnesses mankind confronts these days.
Thank you, above two posters. I had a long argument with someone on Thanksgiving, as they were insisting that HIV is a manmade virus and arguing with someone who would accept that is infuriating.
This post is full of disinformation and shoddy jumps of reason by someone who clearly doesn't know what they're talking about. Spreading garbage like this under of guise of "WELL WE JUST DON'T KNOW!?" is irresponsible, as the guilibility of some of the above commentators goes to show.
The movie 'the origins of AIDS' is an incredible movie. Done from journalist point of view instead of scientists... Definatly worth renting .. I got it from netflix...
There is another theory that wasn't mentioned: That is, HIV/AIDS exisited endemic in human populations far before the 50s, but was only noticed then. The theory goes that death and disease presentation were always misdiagnosed as the actual cause of death (AIDS rarely kills itself, there is usually an oppurtunistic disease that takes advantage of the compromised immune system) such as pneumonia or tuberculosis.
i can't believe this was on digg... what a load of crap. go brush up on you phylogenetics. the same thing happens in politics, when people repeat bumper sticker propaganda they hear from someone else without having the expertise or unbiased information to know wtf they are talking about. sorry to sound like i'm flaming, but geez.
The stuff written here is completely false. Not only is there no vaccine for Hepatitis C, the likeliyhood of getting HIV from OPV (Oral Polio Vaccine).
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Sorry to burst your bubbles, but the genes of the disease were traced back to the American Army a long time ago. Most likely it was developed for the purpose of bio-warfare during the cold war, but it's creators are an inarguable fact. How it ended being distributed by WHO via a vaccination shipment to Africa is anyone's guess...
What a huge pile of steaming crap.
Everyone knows AIDS was developed by Fundamentalist biochemists hoping to kick start the End Times with the aid of alien technology from the far future, where men are using ray guns on the moon.
Check on www.aidsorigins.com for the latest debates on this issue. Theres even a response to the phylogenetic dating argument.
For those of you who think this is a conspiracy theory put forth by me or if I'm starting rumours, please either read the book, or watch the movie. There are people quoted and interviewed in there, who are very much in the thick of AIDS research, and other scientists far better informed than you or I.
I'm only making an attempt to bring the information thats buried in the depths, to the surface.
I think the guy screwed the monkey. But, that's just me. Stranger things have happened.. on video. ;)
Seriously people.... There's noone to "blame". I really don't think tracing the origin of AIDs back to the polio work in Africa is that far-fetched... and it's not blaming a continent, it's merely tracing where this SIV mutation (my belief of what happened) back to a specific species, time, and place.
On the other-hand... The comment about the American Army holding the roots of the disease is some real whacky crap, and even though I'm not a scientist, I really don't think biological warfare studies and an immune-system attacking virus would be in the same spectrum of science.
The information provided is an Eye opener for many regarding the Origin of AIDS.
It is true there is no Hepatitis C vaccine.
Dr.Horowitz theory of contaminated Chimpanzees were used to make the Hepatitis B vaccine tried on many unfortunate victims is a possible explanation.(Refere to Award winning Book: Emerging Viruses- AIDS and Ebola).
Unfortunately Dr.Horowitz theory was not accepted in The Royal Society Conference on origin of AIDS.
Genetic mutation is possibility while trying out many vaccines in laboratories world wide, since the corporate Drug industries play a major role in funding these researchs, these accidents like emergence of AIDS could have been buried under the carpet.
As long as dishonest politician thrive in this world these human tragedies are bound repeat and be forgotten too !
It looks like there are a lot of useful comments here. I also posted this on www.digg.com
which drew a bunch of good comments as well, which you shd check out if you're interested.
As jonathan said, the idea that HIV/AIDS was "designed" by the American Military is plain retarded. IF they were designing a weaponized virus, why in gods name would they choose one that required the direct exchange of certian bodily fluids to be passed on. No a biological weapon would need to be spreadable via an aerosol or through the water supply of the targeted area.
You wrote, "Mathematically and probabilistically we cannot arrive at a reasonable progression which can lead us from a few infected in the late 1950s in Africa, to 40 million infected today in every corner of the globe."
Not sure that reasoning is sound. Let's say just one person was infected in the late 1950's. How many times would the entire field of victims have to infect one new victim apiece before 40,000,000 suffered? Take the log base 2 of 40,000,000. It would only take 26 rounds of sexual encounters. Even allowing that most victims would not infect the full contingent of up to 26 new victims, it's very plausible that that many infections could occur in 50 years.
Why is it "appalling to note how little people know about its origins."
Little is known. Your column makes that point well--not to mention the comments above.
Misinformation abounds in this topic. There are vaccines for HepA and HepB (I know, I have had them as a healthcare worker.) There is NO vaccination available for HepC.
Furthermore, the logic presented for how a HepC vaccination leading to the spread of AIDS doesn't fly. IF there actually was a HepC vaccination associated with HIV transmission, you would have seen similar rates of transmisison in healthcare workers as no doubt they would be among the first to have the vaccination for obvious reasons. The only way you could suspect the vaccination was if ALL persons receiving it were infected.
As it stands AIDS is clearly most transmissable via sexual contact and needle sharing. Both involve invasive and inherently messy exchanges of bodily fluids.
At the end of the day I don't care where AIDS came from, I only care where it finds its end.
Very interesting about the African labs and the possibility of a Polio link to HIV.
The Hepatitis theory, which you properly warn is your own speculative theory, I have more trouble with. Nor do I feel it's necessary to explain the explosion of HIV during the 80's and beyond.
Remember, HIV was unknown and precautions were rare; whether it's sexual or via sharing of needles amongst drug addicts or even medical personnel. There are many instances of needle sharing in poor nations up to and including the beginning of this century in Africa.
I would not be surprised to find it still occours today; Zimbabwe is essentially bankrupt and inflation is expected to reach 4000% there by the end of 2007 (currently in excess of 100% annually).
Another likely area of large scale infection is the collection and use of blood products. The Arkansas State Prison System was in the habit of collecting plasma from inmates, for example. Similarly, Mexico and Africa were also very commonly used to collect blood plasma.
The practice did not stop until well into the late 1980's and in some cases 1990's.
It's my own personal belief that needle sharing has a much larger role in the spread of AIDS than is commonly believed, but due to the stigma attached, people attribute infection to sexual conquest; one example might be athletes who claim prowess was the ultimate cause rather than what is more probable; performance enhancing drugs.
Certainly that is not to say that sexual transmission, including heterosexual transmission, is not worrisome or likely, but I feel that for some it's an easy explanation that carries no stigma nor does it mean an admission of drug use. Even today we see how reluctant athletes are to admit drug use; they must basically be caught in the act.
Steroid abuse was very common in the 1980's amongst not just athletes but also recreational bodybuilders. In the US, hypodermic syringes are difficult to obtain today and were far more difficult to obtain in the time when HIV and AIDS were poorly understood. Sharing almost certainly was a common practice.
I can kinda get into the flow but once Hep C enters the equation it kinda took me out of it. But you've gotten people to talk, so nice job.
I can relate to Asisin view point, recently we went for a summit meeting in DRC and the situation on the ground is appauling, but what shocked me even more was the disclosed fact that the country had zero HIV infection, now reading this topic on Chimpanzees and having learnt that Congoleese eat Chimpazees as delicious meals, then it figures its through this dish that they have developed immunities against the Virus and Scientist are busy making moeny out of Retrovirulas there dont want this topic discussed for fear they would lose the million customers they have around the world.
ask your self one major question? who stands to lose monie wise if a cure is found -the same scientist who infected the world.
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