The Relationship Between HIV and AIDs

The debate centers around whether HIV alone causes AIDS or whether an additional cofactor is needed to cause HIV to turn into AIDS. After nearly 20 years of isolating HIV as the virus that causes AIDS, there are still questions as to why there is such a long incubation from the initial HIV infection and the onset of AIDS symptoms. Leading AIDS research supports the theory that factors in addition to HIV infection lead to AIDS.

While most of the world has adopted David Ho’s belief that HIV alone causes AIDS, new theories on the cause of AIDS have taken hold. Peter Duesberg, PhD holds the belief that AIDS, on other hand, is not related to HIV whatsoever. According to Dr. Root-Bernstein, “The debate has been cast in black-and-white terms. HIV either is or isn’t the cause, with nothing in between.” Today, a more moderate approach is common. Many doctors, scientists, and patients recognize that HIV plays a role in causing AIDS and believe that there is value in the creation of new antiretroviral therapy. However, they also recognize that HIV does not cause all of the destruction of CD4 that causes AIDS. So far, AIDS research has been unable to isolate a cofactor that acts in conjunction with HIV to cause AIDS.