Viruses are organised units of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) or both encapsulated by protein molecules. They are invisible quite alright, but this does not in any way diminish their capacity to cause ruin. Whether in plants or animals, viruses are dangerous acquaintances. It is ill-luck of mother Africa that the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV) chose to pitch its tent with her.
There is a palpable sense of fear in the air as dark clouds hang over Africa. These clouds do not hold water. They carry droplets of death. Why the clouds drifted here we don't know, but what they will do we know. They will rain AIDS, this will water the soil for the starvation and war that have already taken root in Africa and then... the end will come!
AIDS mean: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is caused by the human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV). The virus was first discovered among homosexuals by scientists in France and USA. It was later found to be the cause of a medical condition which was then named AIDS. AIDS is controversial mainly because the HIV virus has not been photographed. AIDS also receives undue attention from the international media, suggesting a conspiracy. Almost every living Nigerian can remember a relative that was killed by either typhoid fever or malaria, but only a small proportion can do when it comes to AIDS. Malaria kills more people than AIDS in Africa, but it is not as celebrated as AIDS by the Western media.
Another problem is that a particular micro-organism known as Staphylococcus aureus can produce all the symptoms of HIV/AIDS in patients, making some scientists argue that what causes AIDS is actually a genetically-engineered variant of Staphylococcus because this micro-organism can not be eliminated from the human body, just like HIV.
The fact, however, remains incontrovertible. According to the current United Nations statistics, 5.8% of Nigerians have HIV/AIDS, amounting to nothing less than 7 million people. The percentage of South Africans with HIV/AIDS is higher and it keeps rising. So, no matter what causes HIV/AIDS, it has to be examined. But we have to be smart and scientific about it, using our senses. We should not be carried away by the antics of the doomsday prophets who seize every opportunity to romance HIV/AIDS and turn it into a CONDOM affair, inadvertently promoting sexual immorality. The watch word should be utmost fidelity and not CONDOM.
Despite the anti-AIDS campaign and the widespread use of CONDOMS, the incidence of AIDS is still on the increase. Is it that CONDOMS are not effective or is there something wrong with the way suspected HIV carriers are screened? On the one hand, results of researchers from 11 independent studies in America show that CONDOMS are only 69 per cent effective when it comes to preventing transmission of the HIV virus. An analyst puts it this way: "It is like being given a bag containing 100 guns, out of which 31 are fully loaded and then choosing one of the guns randomly and pulling the trigger against your head. If you can take that kind of risk, then keep using CONDOMS. The smartest solution is still the old fashioned one. Abstinence, yes you heard well... good old abstinence." On the other hand, the two tests for HIV/AIDS, Western blot and indirect ELISA techniques are not 100% effective theoretically and procedurally. They test for the presence of antibodies produced in response to HIV, and new researches are suggesting that these so-called antibodies may also be produced in response to the presence of some other antigens.
A secretion by the bacteria Lactobacillus jensenii has been found to be useful as a micro-bicide against the HIV virus.
Researchers in the Western world have found that if the experiments work, this will significantly reduce the transmission of the virus through genital contact. This is the latest in the series of researches aimed at curtailing the spread of the virus. This prevention will not be 100% effective even when the research is perfected. So, the future is still bleak.
Why devil chose to add HIV/AIDS to Africa's list of woes, I don't know. Conflict, coups, hunger, floods, desert encroachment, and now HIV/AIDS. The sex habit of Americans is worse than ours. If it is our promiscuous practices that are responsible for the high rate of infection, then why the emphasis on CONDOMS? This is actually the ultimate test for African leaders. They need to think and act too. "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked rule, the people mourn." This is a problem of our collective humanity. This is why we must support Dr. Jacob Winnie's cure, a drug supposedly produced to effectively wage war against the invisible invaders.
Already, the American government is trying to relocate the doctor to the U.S. but he refused, insisting that good thing can also come from "Nazareth." Africa is the Nazareth in this context.
The Federal Government can assist better in this direction by voting money into Dr. Jacob Abdullahi's Winners Medical Diagnostic and Research Institute, Abuja, to enable the research whiz kid expand his research or expand the production of the drug (winnie cure) which he claims cures HIV/AIDS. This will go a long way to helping people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAS) instead of spending N30 billion on HIV/AIDS enlightenment alone as Professor Babatunde Oshotimehin, Chairman, National Action Committee on HIV/AIDS (NACA) would claim.
-Francis Ottah Agbo is the Correspondent for The NEWS, Sokoto State.
