HIV vaccine: five damaging Aids myths The HIV vaccine has been hailed as a "milestone" in the fight against Aids, after decades during which scientists have struggled to counter false information about the virus.
Here we present five of the myths – rejected by almost all the medical community – that have deflected attention from mainstream opinion about how to save lives.
Showering after sex prevents Aids
During his 2006 rape trial the current South African President Jacob Zuma revealed that he showered after having sex with an HIV-positive woman to reduce the risk of infection. The politician's views were condemned as ignorant and irresponsible in a country where more than five million people have Aids.
During his 2006 rape trial the current South African President Jacob Zuma revealed that he showered after having sex with an HIV-positive woman to reduce the risk of infection. The politician's views were condemned as ignorant and irresponsible in a country where more than five million people have Aids.
HIV does not cause Aids
The overwhelming majority of scientists accept the link between HIV and Aids but a small band of sceptics continues to insist that the virus is either harmless or non-existent, and does not cause the syndrome. Their theory was picked up by Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president, who argued that poverty was the real cause of the Aids epidemic. Health activists accuse "Aids deniers – whose most prominent advocate is the US biologist Professor Peter Duesberg – of costing lives by convincing people not to take antiretroviral drugs.
Aids is a CIA conspiracy
In the late 1980s rumours began to circulate claiming that Aids had been created by the US government as a biological weapon. There were various conflicting theories about who the CIA wished to target – Russians, homosexuals or Russians – and whether the disease was deliberately released or slipped out by mistake. No convincing evidence has been presented to support any of the claims.
In the late 1980s rumours began to circulate claiming that Aids had been created by the US government as a biological weapon. There were various conflicting theories about who the CIA wished to target – Russians, homosexuals or Russians – and whether the disease was deliberately released or slipped out by mistake. No convincing evidence has been presented to support any of the claims.
Anti-retroviral drugs actually cause Aids
The side-effects experienced by some people on HIV medication have led to questions about whether they do more harm than good. It has even been suggested that they are "toxic" and damage the human immune system, making patients more susceptible to contracting full-blown Aids. But large-scale statistical studies have shown that antiretroviral drugs substantially lower death rates.
The side-effects experienced by some people on HIV medication have led to questions about whether they do more harm than good. It has even been suggested that they are "toxic" and damage the human immune system, making patients more susceptible to contracting full-blown Aids. But large-scale statistical studies have shown that antiretroviral drugs substantially lower death rates.
Aids can be transmitted by mosquitoes
Potentially fatal diseases such as malaria and yellow fever can be contracted through mosquito bites, so why not Aids? The crucial difference is how the diseases are transmitted. The insects inject saliva but not blood into their victims, and unlike malaria and yellow fever, Aids does not exist in saliva.
Potentially fatal diseases such as malaria and yellow fever can be contracted through mosquito bites, so why not Aids? The crucial difference is how the diseases are transmitted. The insects inject saliva but not blood into their victims, and unlike malaria and yellow fever, Aids does not exist in saliva.
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