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Oral Polio Vaccine Theory

Tracing the origins of HIV is more than an interesting academic exercise. Identifying where the disease began and how it jumped from primates to humans may provide hints as to how the disease can be fought. Theories are difficult to prove, however. Despite evidence to the contrary, a particularly controversial theory continues to draw support.

  1. The Oral Polio Vaccine Theory

    • The Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) theory of the origin of HIV hinges on the use of monkey kidney cells as the growth medium for vaccine cultures. The theory claims that an experimental polio vaccine tested in the late 1950s used cells from monkeys infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). SIV is the closest virus to HIV and is found only in specific species of African monkeys. According to the OPV theory, the SIV-infected cells contaminated the experimental vaccine, which was then administered to thousands of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Most of the vaccinated people fought off the infection, but in a few, the simian virus mutated and eventually evolved into HIV. The experimental vaccine was not distributed after the trials and is not related to the oral or injected polio vaccines used for immunizations.

    Support for the Theory

    • British journalist Edward Hooper endorsed the OPV theory in his 1999 book "The River." Hooper asserted that only the OPV theory explained why the first recognized cases of HIV appeared in the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. The OPV theory is a viable explanation because it has never been disproven, according to Hooper.

    Evidence Against OPV Theory

    • The OPV theory is considered a "dead issue," according to a statement issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). In September 2000, the Royal Society of London discussed the OPV theory and the origin of AIDS. The Society rejected the theory based on genetic sequencing data that placed the first human case of HIV two decades before the vaccine trials. The Society also noted that the vaccine manufacturing process would have destroyed and filtered out any contaminating viruses in the vaccine cultures. Samples of the experimental vaccine, which had been in storage since the 1950s, were tested and no traces of HIV or SIV were found. Additionally, the experimental vaccine was administered orally. HIV transmission occurs through contact with blood; infection is not likely to occur through oral contact. The Royal Society concluded the OPV theory could not be substantiated.

    Accepted Origin of AIDS

    • The widely accepted origin of HIV is the "cut hunter" theory. This theory states SIV crossed species to humans when infected chimpanzees were hunted and consumed, or during butchering when blood from an infected chimpanzee entered a cut on the person doing the butchering. As in the OPV theory, most people did not become ill, but in others the virus mutated into HIV. Several genetically different strains of HIV exist. The "cut hunter" theory explains these variants because the virus evolved independently in different people as they became infected with SIV.

    Hooper's Argument

    • Hooper disputed the "cut hunter" theory because it does not explain how HIV first surfaced in the Congo region. The lack of contaminants in the vaccine samples is irrelevant, Hooper said, because the wrong samples were tested. Hooper continues to assert scientific evidence that could prove the OPV theory is being suppressed by a conspiracy of scientists and government officials who worry that exposure of the contaminated vaccine could undermine public confidence in immunizations. Hooper's arguments have not been published in peer-reviewed scientific or medical journals.

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