This is India: Union Minister's goat gets AIDS !

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AIDS gets Union Minister's goat, he's positive: it's no deadly disease

Saturday January 31 2004 00:00 IST

NEW DELHI: Goats found to be HIV positive! Normally, the joke

wouldn't even make it to a small-town scandal sheet. But when a Union

minister holds a press conference just a few days before Bakr-Id and

announces that goats have been found to be HIV positive in Bhopal, it

becomes more than a farce.

The testing of goat and chicken blood for human virus, according to a

press note released by Union Minister of State for Coal Prahlad Patel

in Bhopal on Wednesday is part of a quest by his guru_Shri Shri Baba

Shriji of Shri Nirvakardham_to allay the fear of AIDS.

Relevant portions of the press note released by Patel on Wednesday,

roughly translated, read as follows:

``Shri Babashri ji revealed through his shri vani (exalted voice)

that HIV positive and negative types in the blood are a creation of

nature. The two types will be found in all creatures with blood when

investigated.

In this direction, the obedient followers of the Nirvakar path

Prahlad Patel and Devendra Patel have been charged with the duty of

testing the blood of animals for HIV which will yield both types of

HIV blood. Through the skilful guidance and efforts of Prahlad Patel

and the hard work of Devendra Patel, these effort are underway. After

the testing in Bhopal, four out of the six samples submitted to Batra

Hospital and Pathlab have been found HIV positive. On the advice of

the doctor, we have sent these to the Ranbaxy Lab for a Western Blot

test. We desire that for the service of humanity, to rid humans of

the above-mentioned three demons (Ashanti, AIDS and malnutrition),

the MP government and the Centre undertake a mission to test the

blood of all animals in the state and the country.''

Devendra Patel said that four positive cases have been found in the

course of this month after 82 goats and 16 chicken have been tested

for HIV virus by the method at various laboratories in the

city. He said that nothing should be read into the timing of the

press conference. ``The intention is not to create a controversy. We

have brought out the facts, now the government should follow up on

this and test animals throughout the state,'' he said.

``I am writing letters to the Prime Minister, the President and the

Health Minister. We have the reports and it is for the government to

do further research on it. I am sending the letters on February 3,''

Prahlad Patel told this website's newspaper.

``My aim to conduct the test in hens and goats is not to raise any

controversy. I am a follower of the guruji and did the tests as a

follower. He said the negative and positive HIV virus would be found

in all the animals who have blood and his saying was proved right

after the tests. All guruji wanted to say was that AIDS is not such a

deadly disease as it is made out to be and the virus is found in all

animals,'' said the Union Minister.

Dr A.K. Batra of Bhopal's Batra hospital, who also happens to be head

of the BJP's medical cell in Madhya Pradesh_when asked whether it

makes any sense at all to test goat or for that matter chicken blood

for this human virus_said the matter had been checked up with the

research lab of the local animal husbandry department who had no

method to check animals and then with the Animal Husbandry College in

Mhow which said the kits are the same but that they had never done

any such testing.

Experts are unanimous about the absurdness of the whole issue. Dr

P.L. Joshi, additional project director, NACO says: ``Human Immuno-

deficiency Virus as the name suggests is not transmitted or found in

any other animal except for human beings, otherwise why would we not

name it just the Immuno Deficiency Virus. It's not being present

elsewhere is the one of the greatest problems in vaccine development

as we cannot find a suitable animal model for testing.' ``There are

no scientific basis to the claims and we have even replied to the

minister stating the same facts,'' he adds.

Says Dr N.K. Ganguly, director general, Indian Council of Medical

Research (ICMR): ``There is no scientific evidence of presence of the

strain in any other animal so far.'' Office of the Union Health

Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the minister cannot react until the

letter is sent to her

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