Års detektivarbejde er resulteret i bogen “Fyrtøjet”, som bl.a. ser på Vestens rolle i at sprede den farlige virus, der kan føre til aids i udbrud med en nogenlunde sikker død til følge.
Anmeldelse af redaktionen på PlusNews
MBABANE, 2 May 2012 (PlusNews): We have all heard the myths and hypotheses about the origins of the epidemic caused by the HI virus (hiv), but a new book, “Tinderbox (fyrtøjet): How the West Sparked the AIDS Epidemic and How the World Can Finally Overcome It”, sheds more light on where it all began.
It is a fascinating account of the medical detective work that traced the disease to Cameroon a century ago.
“AIDS is not a new disease. With ‘Tinderbox’ we wanted to write a defining AIDS book for this generation that will get people excited to talk about AIDS again. We were able to apply new discoveries on the origin of AIDS,” said Daniel Halperin, who co-wrote the book with American journalist Craig Timberg.
Ældste blodprøve med hiv er fra 1959
Scientists have long known that a blood sample preserved in a hospital in Kinshasa, capital of the DR Congo, dating from 1959, indicated that HIV had been around decades before it was recognized in the 1980s.
In 2008, American Michael Worobey reported on a second sample of the virus, from a lymph node (lymfeknude) biopsy taken in Kinshasa in 1960, which helped establish the virus’ evolutionary timeline.
“By comparing these two historic pieces of virus and mapping out the differences in their genetic structures in his lab at the University of Arizona, Worobey determined that HIV-1 group M was much older than anyone had thought”.
“Both samples of the virus appeared to have descended from (være efterkommere af) a single ancestor (ophav) at some time between 1884 and 1924. The most likely date was 1908,” the book recounted.
Bare en enkelt inficeret jæger
Meanwhile, a research team led by microbiologist Beatrice Hahn of the University of Alabama pinpointed the geographic location of the virus. An SIV (simian (abelignende) immunodeficiency virus) infecting chimpanzees in Cameroon proved to be an identical match to HIV-1 group M.
“This SIV was likely around for centuries and may very well have been passed on to a hunter or someone handling the carcass (kadaver) of an infected chimp. The chimp’s blood could have infected the person through an open wound,” said Halperin.
The authors add a dimension that has received little attention: colonialism and how it helped spread the HIV epidemic.
“Once the virus made the jump from chimp to human, a single infected person could have carried HIV down the Sangha River, on to the Congo River and into Kinshasa. The Belgians had founded the city in 1881; by the early 20th century, Kinshasa, then called Leopoldville, was the biggest city in central Africa, fuelled by the dizzying (svimlende) growth of trade with the outside world.”
En agressiv vandringsmand
The epidemic was born between 1881 and 1924. A few decades later, the virus had migrated far from its point of origin, mutating into new but equally deadly subtypes.
“Scientists studying HIV-1 group M already had found many related varieties – what scientists call subtypes – each with slightly different genetic structures and paths through the world.
Scientists discovered, that one of these subtypes had travelled east from Kinshasa toward Lake Victoria. One went south to Zambia, Botswana and South Africa. “One hopped all the way across the ocean to Haiti, then to the United States and Europe,” Halperin and Timberg wrote.
Masser af penge – alt for få resultater
They are not complimentary (rosende) about efforts to combat the spread of HIV.
“On the prevention side, the United States and other donors have fallen short. Part of the problem has been the polarized nature of AIDS politics, with its battles over condoms versus abstinence (seksuel afholdenhed)”, Timberg told IRIN/PlusNews, adding:
“Few outsiders – not the US government, the United Nations, religiously based charities, or even the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – have made impressive gains in preventing the spread of HIV among adults, despite massive investments of money and political will”.
The book notes that the steepest drop in HIV infection rates in the past 15 years occurred in Zimbabwe, a country that received less foreign aid than its neighbours during this period.
“When debating how to prevent HIV, liberals like to talk about condoms, while conservatives often talk about abstinence. Yet the track record for both ideas has been disappointing,” said Timberg.
Læs videre på
http://www.plusnews.org/Report/95399/HIV-AIDS-New-book-tracks-the-epidemic-to-its-origins
Begynd fra: “Halperin, an epidemiologist who has worked on AIDS policies….”
—————-
OM BOGEN
Se mere på
http://www.npr.org/2012/02/27/147491878/tinderbox-how-the-west-fueled-the-aids-epidemic
—————-
OM PLUSNEWS
Formally known as “IRIN/PlusNews,” PlusNews is part of the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network IRIN under the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA – se http://www.unocha.org
Offering content free of charge to web sites and publications in order to increase awareness, the service is now one of the largest providers of original HIV and AIDS reporting.
The major funders of the service are the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, Sweden’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and the Joint United Nation’s programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS).
—————–
Vil du anmeldes på U-landsnyt.dk?
Bøger til anmeldelse sendes til:
Daniel Henschen
Haveforeningen Engly 15
2300 København S
eller
Maria Bierbaum Oehlenschläger
Sankt Nikolaj Vej 13, første sal t.v.
1953 Frederiksberg C
Har du begået en u-landsrelevant bog, eller er opmærksom på en udgivelse i relation til Den 3. Verden, du vurderer som omtaleværdig, finder du ikke et mere målrettet sted i den danske medieverden.
Daniel Henschen har e-mail: [email protected]
Maria Bierbaum Oehlenschläger har e-mail: [email protected]
