The evidence that AIDS is caused by HIV-1

The evidence that AIDS is caused by HIV-1 or HIV-2 is clear-cut, exhaustive and unambiguous. This evidence meets the highest standards of science. The data fulfill exactly the same criteria as for other viral diseases, such as poliomyelitis, measles and smallpox:

• Patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, regardless of where they live, are infected with HIV.
• If not treated, most people with HIV infection show signs of AIDS within 5-10 years.
• HIV infection is identified in blood by detecting antibodies, gene sequences or viral isolation. These tests are as reliable as any used for detecting other virus infections.
• Persons who received HIV-contaminated blood or blood products develop AIDS, whereas those who received untainted or screened blood do not.
• Most children who develop AIDS are born to HIV-infected mothers. The higher the viral load in the mother the greater the risk of the child becoming infected.
• In the laboratory HIV infects the exact type of white blood cell (CD4 lymphocytes) that becomes depleted in persons with AIDS.
• Drugs that block HIV replication in the test tube also reduce viral load and delay progression to AIDS. Where available, treatment has reduced AIDS mortality by more than 80 percent.
• Monkeys inoculated with cloned SIV DNA become infected and develop AIDS.