Fungus-tainted corn a factor in Africa HIV spread?

June 9, 2010

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new study raises the question of whether corn

contaminated with a fungus-derived toxin is helping to facilitate the

transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

The toxins, called fumonisins, are produced by a particular type of fungus that

can grow in corn after the plant is damaged by pests such as the cornstalk

borer.

Fumonisins may be harmful to human health, with some studies linking consumption

of the toxins to an increased rate of cancer of the esophagus, the tube that

connects the throat to the stomach.

<>

It is biologically plausible that high fumonisin intake could make a person more

vulnerable to HIV infection. According to , research suggests that the

toxin makes certain tissues more vulnerable to infections by viruses.

More...

http://news./s/nm/20100609/hl_nm/us_fungus_hiv_1

June 10, 2010

Did they say whether the corn grown there was GMO?

Barth

www.presenting.net/sbs/sbs.html

SUBMIT YOUR DOCTOR: www.presenting.net/sbs/molddoctors.html

---

S> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new study raises the question of whether corn

contaminated with a fungus-derived toxin is helping to facilitate the

transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

S> The toxins, called fumonisins, are produced by a particular type of fungus

that can grow in corn after the plant is damaged by pests such as the cornstalk

borer.

S> Fumonisins may be harmful to human health, with some studies linking

consumption of the toxins to an increased rate of cancer of the esophagus, the

tube that connects the throat to the stomach.

S> <>

S> It is biologically plausible that high fumonisin intake could make a person

more vulnerable to HIV infection. According to , research suggests that

the toxin makes certain tissues more

S> vulnerable to infections by viruses.

S> More...

S> http://news./s/nm/20100609/hl_nm/us_fungus_hiv_1

June 10, 2010

Just as I suspected, they grow non-GMO corn there. Another scare to

get Monsatan to contaminate that vast food supply.

Barth

www.presenting.net/sbs/sbs.html

SUBMIT YOUR DOCTOR: www.presenting.net/sbs/molddoctors.html

---

S> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new study raises the question of whether corn

contaminated with a fungus-derived toxin is helping to facilitate the

transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

S> The toxins, called fumonisins, are produced by a particular type of fungus

that can grow in corn after the plant is damaged by pests such as the cornstalk

borer.

S> Fumonisins may be harmful to human health, with some studies linking

consumption of the toxins to an increased rate of cancer of the esophagus, the

tube that connects the throat to the stomach.

S> <>

S> It is biologically plausible that high fumonisin intake could make a person

more vulnerable to HIV infection. According to , research suggests that

the toxin makes certain tissues more

S> vulnerable to infections by viruses.

S> More...

S> http://news./s/nm/20100609/hl_nm/us_fungus_hiv_1

June 11, 2010

Who knows? Your immune system is down from mycotoxin exposure and all

hell breaks loose and you are in a weakened state for the onslaught of other

problems. Doesn't sound too far fetched to me.

Mulvey son

June 12, 2010

When I read a study, I always want to take the side of " prudence " and ask who

funded the study and whether there was an " monetary or political " interest

involved. It is skeptical but mycotoxin exposure tends to do that.

There have been reports of sub Sahara famine but refusal to accept food that has

been genetically engineered or GE, which is a whole new set of vocabulary which

I should learn. I realize that much manipulation of health information has

taken place for many years now and try to place " alarmist " claims, regardless of

where they come from off to the side until I know the underlying facts. Having

had some family AIDS/HIV experience, and done the " day to day " thing with a

terminal AIDS patient, I know the cryptococcus and pneumocystis carinii

pneumonia and the other opportunistic infections better than I would have ever

chosen to.

What might make sense to me is that if once, HIV infected, a patient is

vulnerable to " any " and I mean ANY bacteria or fungus and is often placed on a

course of antibiotics as a shield against these agents.

It may be that there are " forces " afoot who want people to accept GE food and

are making this claim, as many studies are " tainted " or skewed to whomever will

profit from a " certain outcome " of a study.

That study was or seemed to be confined to Sub-Sahara Africa. I wonder what

would have happened with American companies and the lobbying chain of command,

had this study been related to corn-based products, given the current war over

High Fructose Corn Syrup. To the many people who are currently HIV infected,

this study is a slap in their faces, I think, and against everything we have

been told about HIV - AIDS since the early 1980's.

Is this a scare tactic to make people accept food from overseas that is claimed

to be " toxin free " in the hope that there is a " transmission pathway " or

" transmission enabler " coming from a tainted food source?

We have been told that HIV is a " bodily fluids based " transmission disease, and

not being a scientist or doctor, I am at a loss to understand the immune system

changes one undergoes when infected. I find this very disturbing to report, in

the context of " Sub-Sahara " and not the rest of the world. Just my opinion.

>

> NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new study raises the question of whether corn

contaminated with a fungus-derived toxin is helping to facilitate the

transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

>

> The toxins, called fumonisins, are produced by a particular type of fungus

that can grow in corn after the plant is damaged by pests such as the cornstalk

borer.

>

> Fumonisins may be harmful to human health, with some studies linking

consumption of the toxins to an increased rate of cancer of the esophagus, the

tube that connects the throat to the stomach.

> <>

> It is biologically plausible that high fumonisin intake could make a person

more vulnerable to HIV infection. According to , research suggests that

the toxin makes certain tissues more vulnerable to infections by viruses.

>

> More...

> http://news./s/nm/20100609/hl_nm/us_fungus_hiv_1

>

June 13, 2010

Points well taken, Ginny.

I am so tired of " spin " and industry-serving messages. It's hard to find

the truth when surrounded by so much self preservation.

June 13, 2010

Imagine if eating corn products in this country was included as a " risk factor "

for HIV? Every public school kid who eats corn based cereal products, snacks and

drinks, which have a corn substance or sweetener would be suddenly at risk for

HIV! It would shift the whole focus on transmission and risk.

It seems well known that there are molds which are in the storage silos for corn

and other grain products. We have been told that many are fungal carcinogens

but why target sub Sahara and not the American grain belt?

Corn is fed to our life-stock which we eat. Years back, they were all grass-fed

which is what most " organic " designated meats are fed. Some countries do not

allow hormones in the animal feed and block the importation of meat from the US.

It is self-serving, I agree, but who is doing the serving at the table? Is it

the grain industry from outside the sub Sahara? Is it NGO's (Non Government

Organizations)who are pushing this? We had a terrible " food for oil " scandal

which came out of the UN not that long ago. Is it coming from big pharma

looking for a " protocol " and " cohort " to study?

Until there is a credible context, which is applied " globally " and not

" regionally " there is a continuing credibility problem as far as I am concerned.

If this mold specie is a problem in the sub Sahara, it is a problem for us all

as it relates to HIV/AIDS.

>

> Points well taken, Ginny.

>

> I am so tired of " spin " and industry-serving messages. It's hard to find

> the truth when surrounded by so much self preservation.

>

June 13, 2010

It was not my intention to spread or promote any 'food propoganda'- I suppose

any study that involves illness and mycotoxins in the food supply could provoke

scrutiny that GMO politics and scare tactics are involved. I don't underestimate

the value of unraveling the money-trail - being about a seed crop and US funding

- the Monsanto name could conceivably surface somewhere. The link that was

identified still holds value in the science of potential mycotoxic impact on

immunity. (What is not in the study but reasonable to consider, is that a

population so reliant on fungal-infested maize is also living close to and

processing it, and therefore being exposed through ingestion, dermal absorption

and inhalation.)

I thought it prudent to post the study because it is significant that the study

authors acknowledge how fungal exposure damages the immune system; and how that

could facilitate infection by a virus. ie, the fungal damage might come first

increasing vulnerability and 'helping' the AIDS/HIV virus take hold; and once it

does, also the ensuing opportunistic bacterial and fungal infections. I did not

interpret it to be about that it's a new 'source' of the virus. I don't see that

it tries to change " everything we have been told about HIV - AIDS since the

early 1980's " but as adding to the knowledge: that immune damage increases

susceptibility to being infected by " the " bodily fluids based " transmission

disease " . This is my interpretation, others may see it differently.

(As a layman, I would infer it to be reasonable that other viruses could also

take advantage of fungal-damaged immunity.)

Here is the full abstract. For anyone with the time to investigate the

money-trail, I'm sure it would be appreciated. Links to the full study are at

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/ajcn.2009.28761v1

Am J Clin Nutr (May 19, 2010). doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28761

HIV and hepatocellular and esophageal carcinomas related to consumption of

mycotoxin-prone foods in sub-Saharan Africa1,2,3

H , A Grubb, Jerry W , Jia-Sheng Wang, ine E

Jolly, Nii-Ayi Ankrah, O Ellis, Afriyie-Gyawu, M ,

Abraham G and D

1 From the College of AgricultureEnvironmental Sciences University of Georgia

GA (JHW JAGJWD); the College of Public Health Sciences University of

Georgia Athens GA (J-SW); the College of Public Health University of Alabama

Birmingham Birmingham AL (PEJ); the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical

Research University of Ghana Legon Ghana (N-AA); the Department of Biochemistry

University of ScienceTechnology Kumasi Ghana (WOE); the Jiann-Ping Hsu College

of Public Health Georgia Southern University Statesboro GA (EA-G);the College of

Veterinary Medicine Texas A & M University College Station TX (NMJ AGRTDP).

2 Supported by US Agency for International Development agreement

ECG-A-00-0700001-00 to the Peanut Collaborative Research Support Program located

at the University of Georgia. USAID is not responsible for the content.

3 Address correspondence to JH , College of Agriculture and

Environmental Sciences, 1109 Experiment Street, , GA 30223. E-mail:

jhtimwil@....

ABSTRACT

Background: Promotion of the HIV epidemic by aflatoxin is postulated but not yet

established. Sub-Saharan populations commonly consume food contaminated by

mycotoxins, particularly aflatoxins (predominantly found in peanut, maize, rice,

and cassava) and fumonisins, which occur primarily in maize. Aflatoxin promotes

hepatocellular cancer, and fumonisin may promote esophageal cancer.

Objective: This analysis was undertaken to test the hypotheses that consumption

of mycotoxin-prone staple foods is 1) related to the incidence of HIV infection

in Africa and 2) related to " signature " cancer rates confirming exposure to

aflatoxins and fumonisins.

Design: World Health Organization data for causes of death and the Food and

Agriculture Organization per capita consumption data for commodities in

sub-Saharan Africa were used. Per capita Gross Domestic Product and the

percentage of Muslims (%Muslim) were the socioeconomic data sets exploited.

Relations between causes of mortality, consumption of mycotoxin-prone foods, and

socioeconomic variables were evaluated. Models for HIV transmission as a

function of maize consumption and %Muslim were estimated.

Results: HIV and esophageal cancer deaths were significantly related to maize

but were inversely related to %Muslim and rice consumption. HIV infections were

minimized (74 compared with 435/100,000 people; odds ratio: 2.41; 95% CI: 1.73,

3.24; P & #8804; 0.0001) by the combination of low maize consumption and

above-median %Muslim. Hepatocellular cancer deaths were positively related to

rice but negatively related to maize consumption.

Conclusions: HIV transmission frequency is positively associated with maize

consumption in Africa. The relation between cancer and food suggests that

fumonisin contamination rather than aflatoxin is the mostly likely factor in

maize-promoting HIV. Changes to the quality of maize may avoid up to 1,000,000

transmissions of HIV annually.

Received for publication September 30, 2009. Accepted for publication April 9,

2010.

>

> When I read a study, I always want to take the side of " prudence " and ask who

funded the study and whether there was an " monetary or political " interest

involved. It is skeptical but mycotoxin exposure tends to do that.

>

> There have been reports of sub Sahara famine but refusal to accept food that

has been genetically engineered or GE, which is a whole new set of vocabulary

which I should learn. I realize that much manipulation of health information

has taken place for many years now and try to place " alarmist " claims,

regardless of where they come from off to the side until I know the underlying

facts. Having had some family AIDS/HIV experience, and done the " day to day "

thing with a terminal AIDS patient, I know the cryptococcus and pneumocystis

carinii pneumonia and the other opportunistic infections better than I would

have ever chosen to.

>

> What might make sense to me is that if once, HIV infected, a patient is

vulnerable to " any " and I mean ANY bacteria or fungus and is often placed on a

course of antibiotics as a shield against these agents.

> It may be that there are " forces " afoot who want people to accept GE food and

are making this claim, as many studies are " tainted " or skewed to whomever will

profit from a " certain outcome " of a study.

>

> That study was or seemed to be confined to Sub-Sahara Africa. I wonder what

would have happened with American companies and the lobbying chain of command,

had this study been related to corn-based products, given the current war over

High Fructose Corn Syrup. To the many people who are currently HIV infected,

this study is a slap in their faces, I think, and against everything we have

been told about HIV - AIDS since the early 1980's.

>

> Is this a scare tactic to make people accept food from overseas that is

claimed to be " toxin free " in the hope that there is a " transmission pathway " or

" transmission enabler " coming from a tainted food source?

>

> We have been told that HIV is a " bodily fluids based " transmission disease,

and not being a scientist or doctor, I am at a loss to understand the immune

system changes one undergoes when infected. I find this very disturbing to

report, in the context of " Sub-Sahara " and not the rest of the world. Just my

opinion.

>

June 14, 2010

It was excellent that is was posted. My issue is the " replication " of the study

in the politically charged USA. It asserts that a million cases of HIV/AIDS

could be prevented; I would like to see it replicated in the US and wonder if

it would be " resisted " by agribusiness and whether also, how many " studies " are

" resisted " by agribusiness, as the outcry over high fructose corn syrup and

subsequent substitution by an other healthier form or sugar.

But, I do agree with the outcome of esophageal and liver-type cancer described

in the study. I also agree that mycotoxins weaken the immune system, that is

with no real scientific background on my end, but, worry about medical surveys

relating to a " commodity " that are " geo-political " in nature, rather than

" across the board " and using the US AIDS numbers in the process.

It makes one wonder how a study is enabled in one country and not another -

there are always " strings attached " and clearly this country is desperate to

sustain itself. What I did learn is to look for " labeling " on the GMO issues

and did last night, while shopping, so thank you for bringing the issue to

everyone's attention. Interesting that USAID had a disclaimer that they are

" not responsible for the content. " The ideal might be finding a way to grow " non

chemically " and without " hormones " a means to greatly reduce, if not eliminate

the fungal growth in the first place.

Years back, I saw a program whereby dandelions were " killed off " by being

encircled by a certain mushroom (fungus) and it challenged the use of chemicals

in the ground to kill them off for convenience sake and chemical company profit.

It related to a young man with lymphoma, and who felt that lawn chemicals

promoted its development in him. I never forgot it. He took photos of the

process and had the local media cover that which took place, all outdoors, and

reported that if applied " universally, " it might reduce the numbers of that type

cancer

Almost anyone could " replicate " his " study " as informal as it was, and strive to

look for non-chemical resolutions to get rid of the plant. If the dandelion was

killed off by the fungus, could the " fungus " be killed off by another

" plant-based " source without another chemical introduced into the environment.

I think if I remember correctly, it took about 14 days to see the dandelion

" dissolve " right down to it long roots.

At least the " discussion " is in place. I think that study of whether, AIDS

incidence would be reduced in this country, for the same reasons would be an

important one to " replicate " for a similar outcome here. Thank you.

>

> It was not my intention to spread or promote any 'food propoganda'- I suppose