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marco	Inserito il 24/02/2007 11:06:49
	Hiv on trial in australia February 2007 HIV on Trial in Australia: Court Weighs Evidence for Claims of Isolation, Transmission and Testing A motion for appeal in a criminal hearing in Adelaide, Australia has become the focus of international attention as fundamental claims by orthodox AIDS researchers — including the infamous Dr Robert Gallo — come under vigorous cross-examination by an attorney demanding scientific evidence that the virus exists. Top AIDS industry spokespersons from around the world have appeared in person or by satellite in Adelaide to defend the HIV hypothesis against charges by a local team of scientific and medical experts known as "The Perth Group" who asserts that two decades of AIDS research have failed to produce a purified isolate of HIV, validation of the accuracy so-called HIV tests, or proof that HIV is transmitted through bodily fluids. Below are two news articles about the legal proceedings. Other information about the trial and actual transcripts of testimony can be found at http://aras.ab.ca/index.php For this week's testimony by alleged HIV discoverer Dr Robert Gallo, go directly to Gallo-Transcript.pdf Michael Geiger, a close observer of the events in Adelaide, reports being "stunned and amazed" by Gallo's statements to the court. Geiger says, "It's difficult to tell if Gallo was defending HIV or if his testimony is a public admission of guilt." Geiger urges transcript readers to note: * Page 1294 where Gallo agrees that he found evidence of HIV in only 40% of the AIDS patients in his original study, and that 40% is not enough to prove HIV is the cause of AIDS: Attorney to Gallo: "You had…48 out of 119, or 40%?" Gallo: "I agree" Attorney: "Do you agree that the isolation of HIV from only 40% of patients is not proof that HIV causes AIDS?" Gallo: "I would say of course, in and of itself, 40% isolation of a new virus, I would not say is the cause." * Page 1300 where Gallo admits to finding low percentages of HIV positivity in people with AIDS symptoms: Attorney: "For…adults with KS, 30%; for adults…with AIDS opportunistic infections 47%. Do you accept your figures?" Gallo: "I accept the figures." * Page 1317 where Gallo acknowledges finding no HIV in KS lesions or in T cells, and testimony on page 1318 in which Gallo admits that "viral load" tests cannot be used to prove infection with a virus. The language in news articles covering the Adelaide trial speaks loudly and clearly of media prejudice in AIDS reporting. In the first of the two pieces that follow, medical and scientific experts challenging the notion that HIV has been isolated according to proper, scientific standards are branded "an organized group of HIV deniers" and lack official titles such as MD, while those being called by the court to produce evidence are referred to as "experts" with repeated references to their professional credentials. The obvious bent of Australian coverage is at least one step up from the US media response: Not a single story on the uproar from down under has appeared in American news. Adelaide Independent Weekly February 2, 2007 Does AIDS exist? Is HIV actually a virus? Incredibly, not everyone says yes. But never before has a scientific theory on HIV been tested like this in a court of law. In this landmark South Australia case, the verdict will decide if a man convicted of infecting his girlfriend with the virus can walk free. Expert Attacks HIV Skeptics By Hendrik Gout One of the world's top HIV researchers has branded as "wrong, mischievous and harmful" claims by an organized group of HIV deniers that the virus does not lead to AIDS. David Cooper, director of the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research at the University of NSW, said the evidence tendered to the Supreme Court of South Australia by the so-called Perth Group lacked "any scientific validity" and endangered lives in Australia and the developing world. "Saying that HIV is not sexually transmissible is a tragedy for us in Australia who are trying to prevent people from getting sick," said Professor Cooper, who is cited within the top 10 experts on HIV in the world. "It is a tragedy for the people in the developing world who might think they will not get sick after they read about these claims." Professor Cooper gave evidence yesterday for the Director of Public Prosecutions in an appeal launched by Andre Chad Parenzee, 35, who has been convicted for knowingly exposing three women to HIV by having unprotected sex with them. For more than two weeks, representatives of the Perth Group have testified under oath that HIV does not lead to AIDS. Perth Group members Eleni Papadopulos-Eleopulos and Val Turner also claim HIV is not sexually transmitted and has never been properly isolated and identified in the lab. Professor Cooper, the first of up to eight prosecution witnesses, took the stand yesterday as part of a DPP move to debunk the claims. Up to six other HIV experts, including famous immunologist and former Australian of the Year Gustav Nossal, are expected to provide evidence. Professor Cooper's facility leads clinical trials of new therapies and vaccines for HIV and he is head of the Immunology-HIV-Infectious Diseases Clinical Service Unit at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. He has treated more than 2500 HIV-AIDS patients. He is author of more than 400 published scientific papers, mostly on HIV and AIDS, and is a past president of the International AIDS Society. Professor Cooper is also chair of the AIDS vaccine advisory committee of the World Health Organization and UNAIDS. He said he had read some transcripts of the evidence of the Perth Group in the appeal and was also familiar with their work as a HIV skeptic group dating from the late 1980s. "We believe that their statements are wrong, mischievous and harmful," he said. Professor Cooper was asked to respond to the Perth Group's central claim that HIV has never been properly identified, or "does not exist". "To say that it doesn't exist is just scientific mis-truth," he said. He said HIV had been identified by three methods since its discovery in the 1980s and the most effective modern method was using molecular biology to identify its genetic sequence. The case continues.
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