From: Robin Hanson (rhanson@gmu.edu)
Date: Tue Nov 16 1999 - 12:46:01 MST
I read a review of this book in the Economist, and
the reviews on Amazon.com:
The River : A Journey to the Source of HIV and AIDS
by Edward Hooper, Bill Hamilton
"is thesis, that HIV made the jump from simians to humans
via the administration of oral polio vaccine in Africa in
the 1950s, is still controversial, but his arguments are
powerful, broad, and undeniable--all that is lacking is
conclusive proof." -- Amazon blurb
I am amazed that things could go this badly. I
wonder how many lives were saved by vaccines in Africa,
to weight against the possible cost of inducing the
AIDS epidemic. I don't think vaccines had any
measurable influence on deaths in the US. See:
John and Sonja McKinlay, "The Questionable Contribution
of Medical Measures to the Decline of Mortality in
the United States in the Twentieth Century"
Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly/Health and Society,
55:405-428, 1977.
Robin Hanson rhanson@gmu.edu http://hanson.gmu.edu
Asst. Prof. Economics, George Mason University
MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030
703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
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