OPV AIDS hypothesis 877353 224717791 2008-07-10T02:48:35Z TimVickers 1635280 rv - argumentation with no sources {{Disputed|date=October 2007}} '''Oral polio vaccine (OPV) AIDS hypothesis''' argues that the [[AIDS]] [[pandemic]] originated from live [[polio vaccine]]s prepared in [[chimpanzee]] tissue cultures and then administered to up to one million Africans between [[1957]] and [[1960]] in experimental mass vaccination campaigns.<ref name=Koprowski4>Courtois G, Flack A, Jervis GA, Koprowski H, Ninane G (1958) "Preliminary report on mass vaccination of man with live attenuated poliomyelitis virus in the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi" ''British Medical Journal'' 2:187-190 [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=13560820 online]</ref><ref name=Koprowski1>LeBrun A, Cerf J, Gelfand HM, Courtois G, Plotkin SA, Koprowski H (1960) "Vaccination with the CHAT strain of type 1 attenuated poliomyelities virus in Leopoldville, Belgian Congo 1. Description of the city, its history of poliomyelitis, and the plan of the vaccination campaign" ''Bull World Health Organ.'' 22:203-13 [http://whqlibdoc.who.int/bulletin/1960/Vol22/Vol22-No3-4/bulletin_1960_22(3-4)_203-213.pdf online]</ref> A substantial volume of published scientific data contradict the OPV AIDS hypothesis; as a result, the mainstream [[scientific community]] regards the hypothesis as unsupported, unlikely, or disproven.<ref name=Science>{{cite journal |author=Hillis DM |title=AIDS. Origins of HIV |journal=Science |volume=288 |issue=5472 |pages=1757–9 |year=2000 |pmid=10877695 |doi=10.1126/science.288.5472.1757}}</ref><ref name="worobey">{{cite journal |author=Worobey M, Santiago M, Keele B, Ndjango J, Joy J, Labama B, Dhed'A B, Rambaut A, Sharp P, Shaw G, Hahn B |title=Origin of AIDS: contaminated polio vaccine theory refuted |journal=Nature |volume=428 |issue=6985 |pages=820 |year=2004 |pmid=15103367 |doi=10.1038/428820a}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Birmingham K |title=Results make a monkey of OPV-AIDS theory |journal=Nat Med |volume=6 |issue=10 |pages=1067 |year=2000 |pmid=11017114 |doi=10.1038/80356}}</ref><ref name="cohen2"/><ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/concerns/archive/aids_and_vaccines.htm Origin of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS)] [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] website , Accessed 30th January 2007</ref> == Background: Polio vaccines == {{details|Polio vaccine}} Two [[vaccine]]s are used throughout the world to combat [[polio]]. The first polio vaccine, developed by [[Jonas Salk]], is an ''inactivated [[poliovirus]] vaccine'' (IPV), consisting of a mixture of three wild, [[virulent]] strains of poliovirus, grown in a type of monkey [[kidney]] tissue culture ([[Vero cell]] line), and made noninfectious by [[Formalin]] treatment.<ref name=Kew_2005>{{cite journal |author=Kew O, Sutter R, de Gourville E, Dowdle W, Pallansch M |title=Vaccine-derived polioviruses and the endgame strategy for global polio eradication |journal=Annu Rev Microbiol |volume=59 |issue= |pages=587–635 |year=2005 |pmid=16153180 |doi=10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123625}}</ref> The second vaccine, an ''oral polio vaccine'' (OPV), is a live-[[attenuated]] vaccine, produced by the passage of the virus through non-human cells at a sub-[[physiological]] temperature. The passage of virus produces mutations within the viral genome, and hinders the virus's ability to infect nervous tissue.<ref name=Kew_2005/> Both vaccines have been used for decades to induce [[immunity (medical)|immunity]] to polio, and to stop the spread of the infection.<ref name = Pearce>{{cite journal |author=Pearce J |title=Salk and Sabin: poliomyelitis immunisation |url= http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/75/11/1552 |journal=J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry |volume=75 |issue=11 |pages=1552 |year=2004 |pmid = 15489385 |doi=10.1136/jnnp.2003.028530}}</ref> However, OPV has several advantages; because the vaccine is introduced in the gastrointestinal tract, the primary site of poliovirus infection and replication, it closely mimics a natural infection. OPV also provides long lasting immunity, and stimulates the production of polio neutralizing [[antibodies]] in the [[pharynx]] and gut.<ref name = Pearce/> Hence, OPV not only prevents paralytic poliomyelitis, but also, when given in sufficient doses, can abort a threatening epidemic. Other benefits of OPV include ease of administration, low cost and suitability for mass vaccination campaigns.<ref name=Kew_2005/> === CHAT vaccine === Oral polio vaccines were developed by several groups, one of which was led by [[Albert Sabin]]. Another group, led by [[Hilary Koprowski]], developed its own attenuated vaccine strains. In 1952 Koprowski developed the TN strain at the [[Wistar Institute]] in [[Philadelphia]], later identified as type 2 poliovirus. A type 1 strain, called SM, was reported in 1954. A less virulent version of the SM strain was reported by Koprowski in 1957.<ref name=Plotkin>{{cite journal |author=Plotkin SA |title=CHAT oral polio vaccine was not the source of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 group M for humans| url=http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/319612 |journal=Clin. Infect. Dis. |volume=32 |issue=7 |pages=1068–84 |year=2001 |pmid=11264036 |doi=10.1086/319612}}</ref> The name of the vaccine strain was “CHAT” after "Charlton", the name of the child who was the donor of the precursor virus.<ref name=Plotkin/> In 1958, the National Institutes of Health created a special committee on live polio vaccines. The various vaccines were carefully evaluated for their ability to induce immunity to polio, while retaining a low incidence of neuropathogenicity in monkeys. Based on these results, the Koprowski strains were eliminated and the Sabin strains were chosen for worldwide distribution.<ref name = Sanofi>{{cite web | title = Competition to develop an oral vaccine | work = Conquering Polio | publisher = [[Sanofi Pasteur]] SA |date=2007-02-02 | url = http://www.polio.info/polio-eradication/front/templates/index.jsp?siteCode=POLIO&codeRubrique=34&lang=EN | accessdate = 2007-03-12}}</ref> Between 1957 and 1960, however, Koprowski would continue to administer his vaccine around the world. In Africa, the vaccines were administered to roughly one million people in the Belgian territories, now the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Rwanda]] and [[Burundi]].<ref name=Plotkin/> No one is certain how many people were vaccinated in the Africa trials as few records remain -- but in 1960, Koprowski wrote in the ''British Medical Journal'', "The Belgian Congo trials have enlarged considerably and ... more vaccination campaigns organized in several provinces of the Belgian Congo are raising the number of vaccinated individuals into the millions."''(p. 90)''<ref name=Kowproski5>Koprowski, Hilary (1960) "Historical Aspects of the Development of Live Virus Vaccine in Poliomeylitis" ''British Medical Journal'' 2:85-91 [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=2096806&pageindex=1#page online]</ref> Koprowski and his group also published a series of detailed reports on the vaccination of 76,000 children under the age of 5 (and European adults) in the area of Leopoldville (now [[Kinshasa]]) in Belgian Congo from 1958-1960; these reports begin with an overview,<ref name=Kowproski1>LeBrun A, Cerf J, Gelfand HM, Courtois G, Plotkin SA, Koprowski H (1960) "Vaccination with the CHAT strain of type 1 attenuated poliomyelities virus in Leopoldville, Belgian Congo 1. Description of the city, its history of poliomyelitis, and the plan of the vaccination campaign" ''Bull World Health Organ.'' 22:203-13 [http://whqlibdoc.who.int/bulletin/1960/Vol22/Vol22-No3-4/bulletin_1960_22(3-4)_203-213.pdf online]</ref> next a review of safety and efficacy,<ref name=Koproski2>Plotkin SA, LeBrun A, Koprowski H (1960) "Vaccination with the CHAT strain of type 1 attenuated poliomyelitis virus in Leopoldville. Belgian Congo 2. Studies of the safety and efficacy of vaccination", ''Bull World Health Organ'' 22:215-34 [http://whqlibdoc.who.int/bulletin/1960/Vol22/Vol22-No3-4/bulletin_1960_22(3-4)_215-234.pdf online]</ref> then a 21-month follow-up and final report.<ref name=Koproski3>Plotkin SA, LeBrun A, Courtois G, Koprowski H (1961) "Vaccination with the CHAT strain of type 1 attenuated poliomyelitis virus in Leopoldville, Congo 3. Safety and efficacy during the first 21 months of study" ''Bull World Health Organ'' 24:785-92[http://whqlibdoc.who.int/bulletin/1961/Vol24/Vol24-No6/bulletin_1961_24(6)_785-792.pdf online]</ref> An epidemic of polio erupted in Leopoldville two months after the vaccination campaign began and continued at low levels for at least the next 19 months; many dozens of children who had been vaccinated developed paralytic polio. During this same period, Koprowski immunized 40,000 children in [[Germany]] and more than seven million in [[Poland]] with his attenuated strains.<ref name = Sanofi>{{cite web | title = Competition to develop an oral vaccine | work = Conquering Polio | publisher = [[Sanofi Pasteur]] SA |date=2007-02-02 | url = http://www.polio.info/polio-eradication/front/templates/index.jsp?siteCode=POLIO&codeRubrique=34&lang=EN | accessdate = 2007-03-12}}</ref> In the 1950s, before dangers inherent to the process were well controlled, seed stocks of vaccines were occasionally transported to distant regions, then standard [[tissue culture]] methods<ref name=Enders>Enders, John (1955) "The present status of tissue-culture techniques in the study of poliomyelitis viruses," in ''Poliomyelitis,'' R. Debré, ed, World Health Organization, Geneva, pp. 269-294 [http://whqlibdoc.who.int/monograph/WHO_MONO_26_(part3).pdf online]</ref><ref name=Rappaport>Rappaport, Catherine (1956) "Trypsinization of Monkey-Kidney Tissue: Automatic Method for the Preparation of Cell Suspensions," ''Bull World Health Organ'' 14: 147-166 [http://whqlibdoc.who.int/bulletin/1956/Vol14/Vol14-No1/bulletin_1956_14(1)_147-166.pdf online]</ref><ref name=Melnick>Melnick, JL (1956) "Tissue culture methods for the cultivation of poliomyelitis and other viruses", in American Public Health Association, ''Diagnostic Procedures for Virus and Rickettsial Diseases'' 2nd ed., New York, pp. 97-151</ref> were used to amplify the virus at local production facilities, in order to produce actual doses. It has been reported that specific biologic products, chiefly kidney cells for cultures and blood serum for media, were sometimes harvested from local primates and used in the production process, if wild or captive populations of appropriate species were available.<ref name=Rhodes>Rhodes AJ, Wood W, Duncan D (1955) "The present place of virus laboratory tests in the diagnosis of poliomyelitis, with special reference to tissue-culture techniques," in ''Poliomyelitis,'' R. Debré, ed, World Health Organization, Geneva, pp. 237-267 [http://whqlibdoc.who.int/monograph/WHO_MONO_26_(part3).pdf online]</ref> In [[South Africa]], [[African green monkey]] tissue was used to amplify the Sabin vaccine. In [[French West Africa]] and [[Equatorial Africa]], [[baboons]] were used to amplify a vaccine from the Pasteur Institute. In Poland, the CHAT vaccine was amplified using Asian [[macaques]].<ref name=PlotkinSA/> == Developments of hypothesis == San Antonio physician Eva Lee Snead was the first person to propose the hypothesis that AIDS could have crossed to humans via an infected polio vaccine.<ref name=Pascal/> However she also argued, incorrectly, that SV-40 might be a precursor to HIV.<ref name=Pascal/> In May 1987, Louis Pascal heard a radio broadcast by Dr. Snead explaining her hypothesis. Based on information in medical journals published in the 1950s and 1960s, and the information about the the first cases of HIV infection, he concluded that Dr. Hilary Koprowski's CHAT Type 1 vaccine administered in Belgian Congo between 1957 and 1960 was a likely source;<ref name=Pascal>[http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/AIDS/Pascal91.html What Happens When Science Goes Bad. The Corruption of Science and the Origin of AIDS: A Study in Spontaneous Generation.] Louis Pascal, Accessed 30th January 2007</ref> he dismissed contradicting evidence as "clear attempts at whitewash".<ref name="JMedEthics"/> Pascal's paper about the hypothesis was submitted to several journals, but rejected by all. In their reply, ''Nature'' stated that: "While the theory cannot be ruled out, it does not seem readily to fit the epidemiology of AIDS."<ref name=Pascal/> In 1992 Pascal's paper was published by the University of Wollongong.<ref name=Pascal/> Pascal accused the medical journal editors who rejected his article of being "entirely culpable" in "sending who-knows-how-many present and future people to a horrible and pointless death" without any "conceivable excuse".<ref name="JMedEthics"/> In 1992 the editor of the ''Journal of Medical Ethics'' acknowledged the importance of Pascal's paper, while declining to comment on the "truth of falsity" of his claims, and presented a summary of its content.<ref name="JMedEthics">[http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/AIDS/JME92.html A startling 19,000-word thesis on the origin of AIDS: should the JME have published it?", Journal of Medical Ethics, vol. 18, 1992, pp. 3-4.]</ref> In 1987, Blaine Elswood, a medical researcher into HIV,<ref>[http://lib.bioinfo.pl/auth:Elswood,BF BioInfoBank Library Elswood BF (B F)] retrieved 16 January 2008</ref> who had developed similar ideas, contacted the journalist [[Tom Curtis]] about a "bombshell story." Curtis investigated the story and published an article on the OPV AIDS hypothesis in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' in 1992.<ref>[http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/AIDS/Curtis92.html "THE ORIGIN OF AIDS A STARTLING NEW THEORY ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION 'WAS IT AN ACT OF GOD OR AN ACT OF MAN?"] by Tom Curtis ''Rolling Stone'', Issue 626, 19 March 1992, pp. 54-59, 61, 106, 108. Accessed 30th January 2007</ref> In response, Hilary Koprowski sued ''Rolling Stone'' and Tom Curtis for [[defamation]]. The magazine published a clarification which praised Dr. Koprowski and stated: {{Quotation|The editors of Rolling Stone wish to clarify that they never intended to suggest in the article that there is any scientific proof, nor do they know of any scientific proof, that Dr. Koprowski, an illustrious scientist, was in fact responsible for introducing AIDS to the human population or that he is the father of AIDS.<ref>[http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/AIDS/rs93.html 'Origin of AIDS' update<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>}} ''Rolling Stone'' was ordered to pay $1 [[USD]] in damages whilst incurring around $500,000 USD in legal fees for its own defense;<ref>Martin, Brian (2003) "Investigating the origin of AIDS: some ethical dimensions". ''Journal of Medical Ethics'' 29(4); 253-256 [http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/pubs/03jme.html online]</ref> the legal action cost Dr Koprowski around US$300,000. A contemporaneous defamation suit that Dr. Koprowski brought against the [[Associated Press]] was settled several years later under undisclosed terms.<ref name=Martin> Martin, Brian (2001) "The Politics of a Scientific Meeting: the Origin-of-AIDS Debate at the Royal Society" in ''Politics & the Life Sciences,'' pp. 119-130 [http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/pubs/05pls.html online] </ref> A few scientists, notably the biologist [[W.D. Hamilton]], thought the hypothesis required serious investigation, but they received little support from the scientific community. Hamilton wrote a letter to [[Science (journal)|Science]] in 1994<ref>[http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/AIDS/Hamilton94/AIDSvsLawsuit.html Aids Theory vs. Lawsuit<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> supporting Pascal and Curtis, but it was rejected by the editors. Journalist [[Edward Hooper]], who had already begun to investigate the origin of AIDS when the OPV hypothesis was first put forward gradually became convinced of its truth. After nine years of investigations, he detailed the hypothesis and evidence in his 1999 book, ''[[The River (book)|The River]]''. Hooper further expanded on these allegations in a 2000 meeting in London, at the [[Royal Society]], although these claims were later rebutted in detail by some of the scientists who were present at the meeting.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Plotkin SA, Teuwen DE, Prinzie A, Desmyter J |title=Postscript relating to new allegations made by Edward Hooper at The Royal Society Discussion Meeting on 11 September 2000 |journal=Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. |volume=356 |issue=1410 |pages=825–9 |year=2001 |pmid=11405926 |url=http://journals.royalsociety.org/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=0962-8436&volume=356&issue=1410&spage=825 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2001.0875}}</ref> In 2001, Dr. Hilary Koprowski responded by making a detailed rebuttal of the points made in the book, also in a talk to the Royal Society.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Koprowski H |title=Hypotheses and facts |journal=Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. |volume=356 |issue=1410 |pages=831–3 |year=2001 |pmid=11405927 |url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1088473&blobtype=pdf |doi=10.1098/rstb.2001.0869}}</ref> However in 2004, the ''Origin of Aids'', a TV documentary strongly supportive of the OPV hypothesis, appeared on television stations globally. [[Image:Cg-map.png|275px|thumb|right|The LMS was sited at Kisangani, formerly Stanleyville]] In 2003, Edward Hooper published additional statements that he believed supported his hypothesis in an article in the [[London Review of Books]].<ref>[http://www.lrb.co.uk/v25/n07/hoop01_.html Aids and the Polio Vaccine] Edward Hooper ''London review of Books'' 3rd April 2003</ref> These included accounts of in interview with Jacques Kanyama, a virology technician at the lab in Stanleyville responsible for testing the CHAT vaccine and performing the initial set of vaccinations, who was reported to have said that batches of CHAT had been produced on site by Paul Osterrieth. In addition, Philip Elebe, a microbiology technician, was claimed to have said that tissue cultures were being produced from Lindi chimpanzees. Osterrieth has denied these claims and stated that this work would not have been possible in this laboratory,<ref>[[Paul Osterrieth]], "Vaccine could not have been prepared in Stanleyville", ''Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci'', 356(1410):839, 2001, PubMed: [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11405929 11405929].</ref><ref>[[Paul Osterrieth]], "Oral polio vaccine: fact versus fiction", ''[[Vaccine (journal)|Vaccine]]'', 22(15-16):1831-5, 2004 May, PubMed: [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15121291 15121291]</ref> stating that: {{Quotation|at no time did I ever attempt to make cell cultures from chimpanzee tissues. In addition, I wish to state categorically that no poliovaccine was ever produced or could have been produced in Stanleyville, since the facilities were totally inadequate for the production or control of poliovaccine.<ref name=PlotkinSA/>}} In his book Hooper also stated that Dr Gaston Ninane was involved in using chimpanzee cells to produce vaccine in Congo. Dr Ninane responded to this allegation by stating that he could "categorically deny" ever having tried to make tissue cultures from chimpanzee cells.<ref name=Plotkin/> The people involved in vaccine production and distribution from America state that no vaccine was prepared locally in Congo and that only the CHAT vaccine from America was used. Barbara Cohen, the technician who was responsible for running the American laboratory that produced this vaccine stated: {{Quotation|At no time did I ever receive or work on chimpanzee kidneys, nor to my knowledge cells derived from chimpanzees. I never made, nor do I know of anyone in the lab who made polio vaccine in chimpanzee cells.<ref name=PlotkinSA>{{cite journal |author=Plotkin SA |title=Untruths and consequences: the false hypothesis linking CHAT type 1 polio vaccination to the origin of human immunodeficiency virus |journal=Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. |volume=356 |issue=1410 |pages=815–23 |year=2001 |pmid=11405925 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2001.0861}}</ref>}} == Scientific investigation== The oldest confirmed sample of human tissue that shows the presence of HIV-1 is an archival sample of plasma collected from an anonymous donor in the city of Leopoldville, Belgian Congo (now [[Kinshasa]]) in 1959.<ref name=Zhu> Zhu T, Korber BT, Nahmias AJ, Hooper E, Sharp PM, Ho DD (1999) "An African HIV-1 sequence from 1959 and implications for the origin of the epidemic" ''Nature'' 391:594-597 [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v391/n6667/abs/391594a0.html;jsessionid=C0A2FE731B713D5E9BCAF15B41BC5DB9 online] </ref> The reporting authors state, <blockquote> "Multiple phylogenetic analyses not only authenticate this case as the oldest known HIV-1 infection, but also place its viral sequence near the ancestral node of subtypes B and D in the major group, indicating that these HIV-1 subtypes, and perhaps all major-group viruses, may have evolved from a single introduction into the African population not long before 1959." </blockquote> The OPV AIDS hypothesis has been examined and criticized by members of the scientific and medical communities as being unsupported or directly contradicted by available data, and inconsistent with HIV [[epidemiology]]. In October 1992, the journal ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' ran a story titled "Panel Nixes Congo Vaccine as AIDS source," describing the findings of an independent panel which found each proposed step in the OPV-AIDS hypothesis "problematic". The panel also noted that at least one case of HIV/AIDS was described prior to the OPV trial, (this claim, while scientifically accepted at the time, was later found to be factually incorrect. The error was caused by laboratory contamination. <ref>{{cite news |url =http://www.newsrx.com/newsletters/AIDS-Weekly/1996-01-29/01299613278859AW.html |title =Researchers Admit Being Wrong About Suspected 1959 AIDS Case |publisher = AIDS Weekly |date=January 29, 1996 }}</ref> ) and concluded that: {{Quotation|...it can be stated with almost complete certainty that the large polio vaccine trial... was not the origin of AIDS.<ref>{{cite journal |author= |title=Panel nixes Congo trials as AIDS source |journal=Science |volume=258 |issue=5083 |pages=738–9 |year=1992 |pmid=1439779 |doi=}}</ref>}} In 2000, the [[Royal Society]] held an meeting to discuss data on the [[AIDS origin|origin of AIDS]]; the OPV AIDS hypothesis was a central topic of discussion.<ref name="cohen1">{{cite journal |author=Cohen J |title=Forensic epidemiology. Vaccine theory of AIDS origins disputed at Royal Society |journal=Science |volume=289 |issue=5486 |pages=1850–1 |year=2000 |pmid=11012346 |doi=10.1126/science.289.5486.1850}}</ref> At this meeting, three independent labs ran tests on the remaining stocks of Koprowski's vaccine, as demanded by Edward Hooper in ''The River''. The tests confirmed Koprowski's contention that his vaccine was made from monkey, rather than chimpanzee, kidney, and found no evidence of SIV or HIV contamination.<ref name="cohen1"/> Additional epidemiologic and phylogenetic data was presented at the conference which undermined other key aspects of the OPV AIDS hypothesis; according to a report in ''Science'', Hooper "did not challenge the results; he simply dismissed them."<ref name="cohen1"/> [[Brian Martin (professor)|Brian Martin]], a proponent of the OPV AIDS hypothesis, argued at the conclusion of the conference that if other AIDS-origin hypotheses were scrutinized in such detail, they would prove equally unsatisfying.<ref name="cohen1"/> In 2001, three articles published in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' examined various aspects of the OPV-AIDS hypothesis, as did an article published in ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]''. In every case, the studies' findings argued strongly against any link between the polio vaccine and AIDS.<ref name="blancou">{{cite journal |author=Blancou P, Vartanian J, Christopherson C, Chenciner N, Basilico C, Kwok S, Wain-Hobson S |title=Polio vaccine samples not linked to AIDS |journal=Nature |volume=410 |issue=6832 |pages=1045–6 |year=2001 |pmid=11323657 |doi=10.1038/35074171}}</ref><ref name="berry">{{cite journal |author=Berry N, Davis C, Jenkins A, Wood D, Minor P, Schild G, Bottiger M, Holmes H, Almond N |title=Vaccine safety. Analysis of oral polio vaccine CHAT stocks |journal=Nature |volume=410 |issue=6832 |pages=1046–7 |year=2001 |pmid=11323658 |doi=10.1038/35074176}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Rambaut A, Robertson DL, Pybus OG, Peeters M, Holmes EC |title=Human immunodeficiency virus. Phylogeny and the origin of HIV-1 |journal=Nature |volume=410 |issue=6832 |pages=1047–8 |year=2001 |pmid=11323659 |doi=10.1038/35074179}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Poinar H, Kuch M, Pääbo S |title=Molecular analyses of oral polio vaccine samples |journal=Science |volume=292 |issue=5517 |pages=743–4 |year=2001 |pmid=11326104 |doi=10.1126/science.1058463}}</ref> The evidence cited included the dating of the introduction of HIV-1 to humans as occurring at some point in the early 1930s.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Korber B, Muldoon M, Theiler J, ''et al'' |title=Timing the ancestor of the HIV-1 pandemic strains |journal=Science |volume=288 |issue=5472 |pages=1789–96 |year=2000 |pmid=10846155 |doi=10.1126/science.288.5472.1789}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Salemi M, Strimmer K, Hall WW, ''et al'' |title=Dating the common ancestor of SIVcpz and HIV-1 group M and the origin of HIV-1 subtypes using a new method to uncover clock-like molecular evolution |journal=FASEB J. |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=276–8 |year=2001 |pmid=11156935}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Sharp PM, Bailes E, Chaudhuri RR, Rodenburg CM, Santiago MO, Hahn BH |title=The origins of acquired immune deficiency syndrome viruses: where and when? |journal=Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. |volume=356 |issue=1410 |pages=867–76 |year=2001 |pmid=11405934 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2001.0863 |url=http://journals.royalsociety.org/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=0962-8436&volume=356&issue=1410&spage=867}}</ref> The author of one of the studies, [[evolutionary biologist]] Edward Holmes of [[Oxford University]], commented in light of the new evidence: "Hooper's evidence was always flimsy, and now it's untenable. It's time to move on."<ref name="cohen2">{{cite journal |author=Cohen J |title=AIDS origins. Disputed AIDS theory dies its final death |journal=Science |volume=292 |issue=5517 |pages=615 |year=2001 |pmid=11330303 |doi=10.1126/science.292.5517.615a}}</ref> An accompanying editorial in ''Nature'' concluded: {{Quotation|The new data may not convince the hardened conspiracy theorist who thinks that contamination of OPV by chimpanzee virus was subsequently and deliberately covered up. But those of us who were formerly willing to give some credence to the OPV hypothesis will now consider that the matter has been laid to rest.<ref name=Weiss>{{cite journal |author=Weiss RA |title=Polio vaccines exonerated |journal=Nature |volume=410 |issue=6832 |pages=1035–6 |year=2001 |pmid=11323649 |doi=10.1038/35074222}}</ref>}} The claim that Kisangani chimpanzees were, indirectly, the true source of HIV-1 was again addressed in a 2004 study published in ''Nature''. Here, the authors found that while SIV was present in chimpazees in the area, the strain of SIV infecting these chimpanzees was [[phylogeny|phylogenetically]] distinct from all strains of HIV, providing direct evidence that these chimps were not the source of HIV in humans.<ref name="worobey"/> == Current oral polio-vaccine campaign in Africa == It should be noted that the debate over the OPV-AIDS hypothesis is in the context of a longstanding effort of the [[WHO]] and [[UN]] to achieve [[poliomyelitis eradication]] worldwide through use of the oral polio vaccine of [[Albert Sabin]], which is thought to be safe and effective by virtually all medical authorities. If this long-term public-health goal could be achieved, [[poliomyelitis]] would join [[smallpox]] to become the second infectious disease of humans to be eradicated everywhere, which should make subsequent polio vaccinations unnecessary. The OPV AIDS hypothesis relates only to the historical origin of AIDS, and its proponents accept the safety of the modern polio vaccines. Despite this, rumors based on a misunderstanding of the hypothesis exist,<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2070634.stm Nigeria Muslims oppose polio vaccination] ''BBC News'' 27 June, 2002</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/international/asia/20polio.html?pagewanted=2 Rumor, Fear and Fatigue Hinder Final Push to End Polio] Celia W. Dugger and Donald G. McNeil Jr. ''New York Times'' March 20, 2006</ref> and are blamed in part for the recent failure to eliminate polio in [[Nigeria]].<ref name=Jegede>{{cite journal |author=Jegede AS |title=What led to the Nigerian boycott of the polio vaccination campaign? |journal=PLoS Med. |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=e73 |year=2007 |pmid=17388657 |doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0040073}}</ref> By 2003, cases of poliomyelitis had been reduced to just a small number in isolated regions of [[West Africa]], with sporadic cases elsewhere. However, the disease has since resurged in [[Nigeria]] and in several other nations of Africa, which epidemiologists trace to refusals by certain local populations to allow their children to be administered the Sabin oral vaccine. The expressed concerns of local populations often relate to feared sterility the vaccine might induce in young women,<ref name=BBC>BBC News (2005) "Anti-polio vaccine Malians jailed" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4539757.stm online]</ref> which seems irrational to most -- and some public-health workers argue that debate over the OPV-AIDS hypothesis have fueled these sorts of fears among contemporary Africans.<ref name=Hooper1>Cohen, Jon (2000) "The Hunt for the Origin of AIDS" ''Atlantic Monthly'' (Oct), p. 104; see also Ed Hooper's response online [http://www.aidsorigins.com/content/view/128/49/]</ref> Since 2003, these fears have spread among some in the Muslim community, with Datti Ahmed, of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria stating that: {{quotation|“We believe that modern-day Hitlers have deliberately adulterated the oral polio vaccines with anti-fertility drugs and‥viruses which are known to cause HIV and AIDS”<ref name=Jegede/>}} Now polio has also resurged in areas of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh as well.<ref name=GPEI>Global Polio Eradication Initiative (2007) Map of last six months of polio cases worldwide ''Wild Poliovirus Weekly Update'' initiative of WHO, CDC, UNICEF, Rotary International [http://www.polioeradication.org/content/general/casemap.shtml online]</ref><ref name=BBC2>BBC News (2007) "Bangladesh begins new polio drive" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6412835.stm online]</ref> Other scientists, such as the late [[W.D. Hamilton]] of Oxford University, have argued that failures to adequately address medical mistakes of the past will only lead to similar failures in the future.<ref name=Hamilton>Hamilton W.D. (1994) "AIDS Theory vs. Lawsuit", letter submitted to the journal ''Science'' by the late Royal Society Research Professor at Oxford but rejected for publication at that time. [http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/AIDS/Hamilton94/AIDSvsLawsuit.html online]</ref> ==See also== *[[AIDS conspiracy theories]] *[[AIDS origin]] *[[SV40]] A scientifically accepted case of a monkey virus contaminating polio vaccine - both OPV and IPV. == References == {{reflist|2}} == External links == * [http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/qa/qa3.htm Where did HIV come from? Questions and Answers], from the United States [[Centers for Disease Control]] * [http://www.aidsorigins.com/ AIDSOrigins]: Website in which Edward Hooper presents the OPV AIDS hypothesis. {{AIDS}} [[Category:AIDS origin hypotheses]] [[id:Hipotesis OPV AIDS]]