Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

The deadly disease known as AIDS—Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome—was first officially
reported in 1981 from the United States, though most authorities believe that it originated in Africa.
(Some claim that the first case, unrecognized at the time, may have surfaced as early as 1969.) The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS was identified in 1983, and reliable tests for the virus were perfected two years later. The virus is transmitted by exchange of bodily fluids, chiefly via sex, transfusions of infected blood, or sharing contaminated hypodermic needles. There is presently no cure for AIDS, though various drugs retard its advance in some patients. AIDS kills by leaving its victims open to attack by various “opportunistic” diseases that are normally repelled by healthy immune systems. At the end of 2001, the World Health Organization reported that AIDS had killed 24.8 million victims worldwide; another 40 million persons were infected, more than half of them (28.1 million) residing in sub-Saharan Africa.

AIDS

AIDS is quite possibly one of the most horrific developments this past century. Millions of dollars are being poured into research and yet a cure still seems all but completely elusive. Gone are the days of carefree sex ’n’ drugs ’n’ rock ’n’ roll, as the deadly virus does not seem to be at all choosy in who it targets. Shocking as the whole phenomenon would be if this really was a natural plague, theory has it that the AIDS virus was in fact artificially manufactured by the U.S. government to kill African-Americans and this is being taken very seriously by the black community. Rumors are being circulated that the disease was developed to kill off the so called “useless eaters” of the human race—blacks, homosexuals and drug users to be more precise. The Minister of Health for Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam, Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammed, has called for a formal investigation. In his words:

“We know from the Congressional Report that money was appropriated for the creation of artificial biological agents to defeat the human immune system. This took place in July of 1969. Ten million dollars was allocated to the U.S. army. So . . . let there be hearings to uncover the files.”

Many African-Americans quote this experiment, which took place at Tuskegee as grounds for skepticism about the government’s intentions. From 1932 to 1972 about four hundred poor black men were used as guinea pigs as scientists studied the effects of syphilis left untreated. And what’s more, as Thomas Blocker, Director of Health Professions at Morehouse College says: “A number of people have the idea that there’s always the possibility that people who are disadvantaged may be used as guinea pigs in terms of medicine.”

We cannot know about the origins of AIDS. We do not know whether the most lethal worldwide killer was born of some warped conspiracy in the name of population control or scientific experiment. But they certainly succeeded if a conspiracy was at work. Perhaps they had not bargained for such dramatic results.