The recent controversy over HIV/ AIDS that tries to discredit the empirical (that is, factually supported) link between HIV and AIDS strikes me as counter productive to the cause of fighting HIV/ AIDS at home and abroad. In my understanding, the opponents to the HIV/AIDS link are claiming that the link itself has not been studied or peer reviewed in a proper scientific fashion, and is perpetuated to allow for drug companies to make millions off of auto immune enhancing drugs.

It becomes difficult for me to believe that a disease which effects large portions of citzenry in many countries and has had 2 - 3 decades to mature in our modern, globalized society has not been studied in a scientific fashion. I believe the dispute may be over the more technical and definitional aspects of the causual link between HIV and AIDS itself. This sort of debate becomes sensationalized in the media, and heavily detracts from actual advancements being made in HIV research.

Not one of the scientists or researchers who is contesting the link between HIV and AIDS denies that HIV itself is a serious problem. Regardless of whether or not HIV technically becomes AIDS or whether a host of other viruses and diseases takes over from the immune deficient aspects of HIV is irrelevant to the advancement of medical research dedicated to the cure of HIV. If we dedicate time and research to debating the causual link between the two, we risk wasting precious time, resources, and lives to the HIV  disease.

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