February 17, 2005
OPINION
HIV 'supervirus' is a warning to all
Australia must continue to shun a US-led holy war against AIDS, writes Bill
Bowtell.
The detection in New York City of a new strain of HIV virus that is highly
resistant to anti-retroviral drugs is deeply worrying. If the existence of
an HIV supervirus is confirmed by tests now being performed by the HIV
authority Dr David Ho and others, then there will be genuine grounds for
concern about whether existing HIV containment strategies are working, or
need to be radically overhauled to meet the potential threat of a new
strain of the virus.
These questions are important and must be asked - and answered - if we are
to continue to protect as many people as possible from infection and early
death from HIV/AIDS.
In the initial case in New York, health officials said it was the first
where a strain of HIV had been found that showed resistance to multiple
classes of drugs and apparently led to a rapid progression from infection
to AIDS.
But given the overwhelming and pervasive American influence in Australia's
media and political affairs, how the American debate about the suspected
supervirus develops will have a profound influence on our politicians and
opinion formers. This may bring with it the risk that America's solutions
to HIV/AIDS will become our solutions.
Before embracing whatever half-brained ideas about how to respond to this
potential HIV problem emerge from America's political process, we must
first separate opinion from fact.
Australia's record of great success in managing HIV/AIDS stands in contrast
to America's catastrophic record of failure, venality and incompetence.
After 25 years of combating the spread of HIV/AIDS, the US has an infection
rate 10 times that of Australia's. In 2003 the rate of HIV prevalence in
Australia was 69 per 100,000, compared with 600 per 100,000 in the US. The
incidence of AIDS was 1.5 per 100,000 in Australia against 15 per 100,000
in the US.
An inevitable result of this large - and expanding - population of HIV/AIDS
sufferers in the US is the inevitability of new strains of the virus
emerging, such as the one now the subject of testing in New York. As well,
there has been rising resistance of the HIV/AIDS virus in the US to
treatment, as it continues to mutate.
The very large HIV/AIDS caseload in the US stems from the fact that its
governments long ago succumbed to popular prejudice and fundamentalist
religious pressure to combat the problem by adopting policies based on
punishment, faith and emotion, not prevention, education and reason.
Honest sex education and condom use were dumped in favour of the promotion
of abstinence from sex and monogamous marriage.
Nothing wrong in that noble ambition, but such foolish campaigns have done
nothing to stop young Americans from conceiving, having babies or abortions
at anywhere between four and seven times the rate of comparable countries,
including Australia.
While America abandoned or greatly curtailed effective HIV/AIDS prevention
programs, billions of dollars were funnelled into HIV vaccine research and
provision of new drug treatments.
America chose to fund a permanent, fruitless quest for the Holy Grail of a
HIV vaccine while shunning the common, convenient, cheap latex prophylactic
that works like a charm to prevent HIV infection.
It was a great deal for drug companies and researchers but a lousy one for
those Americans who pay for it with their taxes, health and lives.
While US governments waged a holy war against illicit drug trafficking and
prostitution, drug use by Americans exploded, and pornography became a
bigger revenue earner than Hollywood movies.
As the US criminalised and stigmatised HIV/AIDS in a manner unparalleled in
any other country, its misguided policies ensured that many hundreds of
thousands of Americans succumbed to avoidable HIV infection and death from
AIDS.
In contrast, Australia's governments and its people understood that the
fewer people infected with HIV in the first place, the less likely was it
that the population at large would come in contact with the virus.
Unlike the US, Australia opted to control HIV through frank sex education,
widespread distribution of syringes and provision of free, anonymous and
therefore virtually universal HIV/AIDS testing.
The result? In 2005, many tens of thousands of young Australians are free
of the scourge of HIV infection, our HIV and AIDS caseload is under control
and managed well, and a relative abundance of resources is devoted to the
treatment, support and care of our citizens living with HIV and AIDS. In
short, a better deal for Australian families, and for Australian taxpayers.
The lesson is clear. If you want Australian HIV/AIDS caseloads to increase
tenfold then follow America's example, and try to legislate and pray
HIV/AIDS out of existence.
The looming moral panic about a HIV supervirus will be drummed up for US
domestic political reasons by self-appointed experts whose motives are as
dishonest as their record is atrocious.
Condoms, needle exchanges, honest sex education and Australian common sense
will protect you and your loved ones from HIV/AIDS infection far better
than laws based on fear, prejudice and ignorance of the evidence
accumulated from 25 years of controlling HIV spread in Australia.
Bill Bowtell is a former senior adviser to the federal health minister
(1984-87),
former national president of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations
and an architect of Australia's response to HIV/AIDS.
Geoff Heaviside
Convenor - Brimbank Community Initiatives Inc
Secretary - International Centre for Health Equity Inc
Member - Australasian Society for HIV Medicine Inc
P.O. Box 606 Sunshine 3020
Victoria. Australia.
Ph: 0418 328 278
Ph/Fax : (61 3) 9449 1856
or in India
Mr Geoff Heaviside
Mobile : (91) 9840 097 178
(SMS when not in India)
"The new century is not going to be new at all if we offer only charity,
that palliative to satisfy the conscience and keep the same old system of
haves and have-nots quietly contained."
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