Gadhafi: 'Straights' Don't Get AIDS

The Tuscaloosa News ^ | July 12, 2003 | ELLIOTT SYLVESTER - AP

[yonif]

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi told a conference of African leaders Saturday that Africans who are "straight" need not fear AIDS, which is ravaging many countries on the continent.

Speaking through a translator, Gadhafi drew some laughter with his reference to AIDS only affected homosexuals.

He told the closing session of the eight-day annual African Union conference, "All you have to do is observe the rules. If you are straight, you have nothing to fear from AIDS." He also described HIV, the virus that causes AIDS as "a peaceful virus, not an aggressive virus."

Of the 42 million people worldwide infected with HIV, 29 million live in sub-Saharan Africa. , at the close of the eight-day summit,

Gadhafi added in his address to 40 African heads of state that they should also not "worry about tsetse flies and mosquitoes" - which carry malaria and sleeping sickness - saying they were "God's armies" protecting Africa from its enemies, apparently foreigners.

"If they come here, they will get malaria and sleeping sickness," he said.

Malaria kills 5 million Africans a year, while sleeping sickness - also known as African trypanosomiasis - kills more than 25,000 people in Africa a year.

[RaceBannon]

According to Fumento, it is.

Besides, if it was just penil/vaginal sex that was the great transmitter, why arent we dying like flies here, but they are in Africa?

[Luis Gonzalez]

My family is fine carlo, but those questions lie at the heart of the issue.

We should not argue over this, we should however look to expand our knowledge of the truth so that issues can be tackled.

AIDS is not a "homosexual" disease, it is a blood disease.

[Luis Gonzalez]

http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/AIDS/

[Zipporah]

In this country, we don't have the same cultural practices as in Africa.. what I posted had to do with unsanitary sexual practices among women particularly prostitutes. According to what I have read in several articles, anal sex is not common practice in Africa. Promiscuity is rampant (not that it isn't here) but as I posted re the baboon urine soil, drying out the vaginal tissues removes the natural 'shield' against infection. Along with female circumcision, causes the exchange of blood. Which we can all agree transmits AIDS. I agree that in the US the biggest group transmitting AIDS are homosexual contact (not to mention needles, blood tranfusions, etc.) but it isn't the ONLY means to contract AIDS.

[Porterville]

Here is some more info about HIV, they aren't all the same and vary in dominance from sub continent to sub continent. You see haters, it ain't all from anal sex around the world...expand your mind a little and think about it...From:http://www.avert.org/hivtypes.htm

What is the difference between HIV-1 and HIV-2?

There are currently two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. Worldwide, the predominant virus is HIV-1, and generally when people refer to HIV without specifying the type of virus they will be referring to HIV-1. Both HIV-1 and HIV-2 are transmitted by sexual contact, through blood, and from mother to child, and they appear to cause clinically indistinguishable AIDS.

However, HIV-2 is less easily transmitted, and the period between initial infection and illness is longer in the case of HIV-2.

How many subtypes of HIV-1 are there?

HIV-1 is a highly variable virus which mutates very readily. So there are many different strains of HIV-1. These strains can be classified according to groups and subtypes and there are two groups, group M and group O.

In September 1998, French researchers announced that they had found a new strain of HIV in a woman from Cameroon in West Africa. The strain does not belong to either group M or group O, and has only been found in three other people, all in the Cameroon.

Within group M there are currently known to be at least 10 genetically distinct subtypes of HIV-1. These are subtypes A to J. In addition, Group O contains another distinct group of very heterogeneous viruses. The subtypes of group M may differ as much between subtypes as group M differs from group O.

Where are the different subtypes found?

The subtypes are very unevenly distributed throughout the world. For instance, subtype B is mostly found in the Americas, Japan, Australia, the Caribbean and Europe; subtypes A and D predominate in sub-Saharan Africa; subtype C in South Africa and India; and subtype E in Central African Republic, Thailand and other countries of southeast Asia. Subtypes F (Brazil and Romania), G and H (Russia and Central Africa), I (Cyprus), and group O (Cameroon) are of very low prevalence. In Africa, most subtypes are found, although subtype B is less prevalent.

What are the major differences between these subtypes?

The major difference is their genetic composition; biological differences observed in vitro and/or in vivo may reflect this.

It has also been suggested that certain subtypes may be predominantly associated with specific modes of transmission: for example, subtype B with homosexual contact and intravenous drug use (essentially via blood) and subtypes E and C, with heterosexual transmission (via a mucosal route).

Laboratory studies undertaken by Dr Max Essex of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston have demonstrated that subtypes C and E infect and replicate more efficiently than subtype B in Langerhans cells which are present in the vaginal mucosa, cervix and the foreskin of the penis but not on the wall of the rectum. These data suggest that HIV subtypes E and C may have a higher potential for heterosexual transmission than subtype B.

However, caution should be exercised in applying in vitro-studies to real-life situations. Other variables which affect the risk of transmission, such as the stage of HIV disease, the frequency of exposure, condom use, and the presence of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), must also be taken into consideration before any definite conclusions can be drawn.

Are some subtypes more infectious than others?

Some recent studies have suggested that subtype E spreads more easily than subtype B. In one study conducted in Thailand (Mastro et al., The Lancet, 22 January 1994), it was found that the transmission rate of subtype E among female commercial sex workers and their clients was higher than that for subtype B found among a general population in North America.

In a second study conducted in Thailand (Kunanusont, The Lancet, 29 April 1995), among 185 couples with one partner infected with HIV subtypes E or B, it was found that the probability of both partners in a couple becoming infected was higher for subtype E (69%) than for subtype B (48%). This suggests that subtype E may be more easily transmissible.

However, it is important to note that neither study was designed to fully control for multiple variables which may affect the risk of transmission.

Is subtype E a new subtype?

Subtype E is not new. Stored blood samples show that subtype E was already identified at the beginning of the epidemic in Central Africa and as early as 1989 in Thailand.

[Zipporah]

Interesting.. thanks. In another article I read the monkey/ape connection. They were theorizing that Africans injesting undercooked monkey and chimp meat might be the culprit. *Or you could take my 80 year old mother's theory that AIDS is caused by men "messing" with monkeys..* Pretty much fits with some of the stuff posted! LOL!

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

Haters? You sound like a broken queer record. Millions of us are sick of the gay agenda being shoved down our throats(so to speak). When we disagree, we're called bigots and haters by people like you.

Africa aside, in this country there is always a gay X factor involved with AIDS victims. Whether the victim is gay, whether(female) they had sex with a man who is gay, or whether they received blood from a gay person via transfusion. Outside of IV drug users, a homosexual has to be in the equation.

I hope tonight you'll have a more enjoyable time in the bathhouse & you'll be in a better mood in the morning. Take you're tripe to DU.

[Luis Gonzalez]

http://www.aegis.com/news/bbc/1999/BB990201.html

[Porterville]

Did you read the post dude??? In Africa it is a different strain then the B variant that is associated with blood transfer prevalent in the USA; I don't mention Homos because it isn't about homosexuality it is about various strains of a disease that varies from one population to another and is more destructive to certain genotypes. Hater, cool your jets.

[Centurion2000]

What little I have heard suggests that African AIDS is much more of a heterosexual disease

That would be because African men do not like 'wet' sex. Their women use herbs to dry out the genitals so that it's about as dry and on par with using a callused hand.

Go figure.

[carlo3b]

Luis, I will debate this issue with you if we can agree on some pretty fundamental facts.. If you really want to get to the heart of the problem, lets see where we diverge.. Homosexual sex is dangerous and dysfunctional behavior wouldn't you agree?

[Porterville]

Where do you get that from??? Herbs to dry out their vaginas??? Are you serious???

[Zipporah]

You can dismiss the facts if you wish.. and btw I never said it was the ONLY reason.. but what it does show that culture plays a huge role in the African problem. Do a google search on the sexual practices in Africa ..

[Luis Gonzalez]

That has nothing to do with the issue at hand carlo.

That is just a way to veer away from the issue of understanding a deadly disease and becoming aware of its causes.

You claim that AIDS is a homosexual disease, if that were true, then heterosexuals would not contract AIDS.

Would you agree there?

[carlo3b]

We can't agree that Homosexual sex is dangerous... I suggest we will never agree on anything reguarding this issue.. Change the subject if you can, but you have been exposed Luis! (pardon the pun)

[Theodore R.]

Michael Fumento wrote a book some 8 to 10 years ago called "The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS." The book was condemned by the intelligentsia. He claimed that AIDS always has some homosexual source. For instance, if one contracts AIDS through a tainted transfusion as did Arthur Ashe, Elizabeth Glaser, or CA political organizer Paul Gann, that blood was tainted because the donor had a homosexual link in his background. If an intravenous drug user shared a needle and contracted AIDS, it was because the drug user's partner had some kind of homosexual link in his background. If a heterosexual contracted AIDS, it was because the person's partner had a homosexual link: witness the late actress Amanda Blake. She died of AIDS contracted through a bisexual husband. She actually died in Austin, TX over 10 years ago, as I recall.

So, if AIDS is being transmitted from heterosexual to heterosexual, this theory says that one of the "heterosexuals" is withholding information about his sexual background.

For years, the disease was spread most heavily by promiscuous homosexual men who engage in anal intercourse. The disease was (is) largely absent among promiscuous lesbians.








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[Porterville]

Luis, certain HIV types (HIV 1 subtype-B) are more susceptible to gays (via blood) than other types. The African sub types apparently are more susceptible to heterosexuals C, O, D, A. "Homosexual HIV" is subtype B prevalent in SF and the West.

[Luis Gonzalez]

Hey carlo, ANY unprotected sex is potentially dangerous and carries with it the possibility of STD's.

AIDS is a tainted-blood disease, it transmitted itself from chimpanzees to humans (that's a known fact), and spreads via the exchange of bodily fluids such as blood, semen, and even mother's milk.

I am carrying on a debate on an issue here, and I thought you did not wish to hurt our friendship, so then why the shot on that last post?

[Luis Gonzalez]

They can't be "more susceptible" to homosexuals, diseases can't differentiate between the sexual lifestyle of one person over the other.

Perhaps your statement would be more precise if it said that the disease was more likely to be transmitted via anal intercourse.

[honeygrl]

"Well, he is basically correct about the AIDS. "

Uhm, actually he is not. In Africa women have a good chance of getting it due to the men prefering "dry sex" and many children are born with it. Here in the US, straight people also get it and even children have been known to get it by either being born with it or via some sort of accident exposing them to it. A distantly related cousin of mine got it from a blood transfusion when he was 10yrs old back in the late 80's or early 90's and died when he was 14 from the disease. Anyone can get AIDS and not just via homosexual sex.