Another coming of Abalaka and fresh controversy over cure for HIV, hepatitis B, C

Until now, there is no cure for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) and hepatitis C and hepatitis B viruses. Indeed, HIV was discovered around 1983 by French researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, led by Dr. Luc Montagnier and others.

The Americans were the first to announce at a press Conference on Monday April 23, 1984 that their researcher Robert Gallo had isolated the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).Besides, the Anti Retro Viral (ARV) drugs that have been proven beyond reasonable doubt to reduce the viral load to a level that the infection cannot be transmitted and extend the lives of persons living with the virus (PLWV), there is not yet any effective vaccine for the disease.

Also, although the ARV is provided at little or not cost to PLWV at treatment centres nationwide, it comes at a great cost to the Federal Government and international donors who subsidise the drugs. Unfortunately, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, but a combination of ARV drugs, approved and recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been used to prevent new infections, especially in mother to child transmission. The drugs have also been shown to effectively reduce the virus to near-zero levels, thereby making it hard to be transmitted. The WHO now recommends the drugs for all HIV positive persons to stop new infections. But the WHO insists the drugs are not cures.

There also vaccines underdevelopment, but none has shown enough promise to be deployed for mass therapeutic or preventive uses.The drugs have also been linked to various unpleasant side effects including cancer.Consequently, there is increased demand for an effective and safe HIV vaccine that cannot just treat but prevent the infection. This situation has led to claims and counter-claims on cures for HIV.

Why all these claims? Is a cure for HIV possible? What are the procedures for presenting cure findings? What is the federal government doing to address the issue?Nigeria has one of the highest burdens of HIV in the world and second only to South Africa on the continent. According to National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), there are about 2.8 million Nigerians living with HIV and only about 1.2 million are on the free treatment programme of the federal government.

Little wonder, from Dr. Jeremiah Abalaka with his controversial vaccine for HIV, in 1999, Dr. Paul Olisa Ojeih in 2000, Prof. Isaiah Ibeh of University of Benin, Edo State, in 2013, and Prof. Maduike Ezeibe, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Abia State, there have been harvests of unverified cure claims.However, the most interesting thing is the manner in which the claimants present their findings and the harsh reaction of government agencies to these claims.

Unfortunately, no headway has been made despite these myriads of claims of possible cures for HIV. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) under the leadership of its past Director General, Dr. Paul Orhii, made efforts set up a national committee made up of professors of medicine to verify the cure claims. Unfortunately, the committee could not do much due to lack of funds.

NAFDAC had in September 2011 arrested the Managing Director of Winners Medical Diagnostics and Research Institute, Dr. Jacob Abdullahi, for dealing in expired medicines claimed to be cure for HIV.Also, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) have called for clinical trials to test the efficacy of these HIV cure claims.

Meanwhile, professor of Veterinary Medicine and Clinical Virology at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Abia State, Maduike Ezeibe, one of the HIV cure claimant, was shouted down by NACA and the Nigeria Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) for allegedly not following laid down procedures before going public with his findings.

But the Federal Government could not shutdown Abalaka despite a ban on his vaccine. The judiciary, after 16 years of suits, had in 2015 come up to support Abalaka’s efforts and berate the Nigerian government for their “irresponsible manner” it handled his discovery. A Federal High Court in Makurdi had ruled against the ban on the controversial HIV vaccine developed by Abalaka. The judge ruled that the Federal Government was wrong to have banned Mr. Abalaka’s vaccine.

Also, despite criticisms, Abalaka’s work has for the first time been published in credible scientific journals, Vaccine and New Scientist, and received rare editorial comments. Recently, Abalaka resurfaced in a WhatsApp and YouTube video with fresh claims on HIV cure.

Abalaka’s fresh claims
Abalaka, in the new video, said: “…They are deceivers, they are not interested in cure for HIV because of their anti retroviral drug. Toxic drug that you must take under prescription by doctors and once they put you on it, you must take it for life.“The average cost of treatment for a year is $20,000, which must be taken for a year. $20,000 dollar is N7.2 million treatment every year that is what is got from the Nigerian government from any person put on anti retroviral drug.

For a few kobos literally you can get cured with my treatment.
“To make matters worse, few years back a young man went to Gwagwalada specialist hospital now called University of Abuja Teaching Hospital to donate blood for his friend who was sick, when he was screened they found out he has Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and then educated him that there is no cure. They told him, ‘you must be very careful; you cannot give your blood to anyone and be careful of how you have sex. You must have condom.’ The young man with the mother came to me crying. The mother was aware I have this vaccine, I said, ‘why are you crying, forget about them, just sign the consent form and I will treat your son but before I do it, I will take your blood and send it to the same hospital for confirmation.’

“I took the sample there, confirmed and started treatment everyday. After the first week I reduced it, then five weeks later another blood test was conducted and I discovered no more anti body against HCV. The young man left here jubilating and telling people along the road why he was jubilating. All these are made available to the government but the present government ignored it.

“Some months back too, a foreigner came to me for treatment for both HIV and HCV. I started treating, this foreigner was diagnosed from his country, submitted all his results to me. Within one week of treatment his HCV had gone, no more HCV in his blood. He was on anti retroviral drug, I asked him to stop it to see if the virus will bounce back, after eleven days of stopping the drug, no HIV showed in his blood. The young man had to travel back but I wish he had to stay back to clear his anti bodies.

“Ladies and gentlemen all this are made available to the government, all people of goodwill who know me approached the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government of 16 years still nothing. Now they have approached All Progressives Congress (APC) government, am sorry to say, they are the same, Nigerians not interested in any scientific discovery.

“All they think is that Dr. Abalaka is a masquerade maker who is using witchcraft. I am using scientific thinking and reasoning approach.“I must express my gratitude to all those who has been struggling with me but am ashamed of the Nigerian government at all levels and tiers. When my work was published, I spent thousands of naira, made copies and sent to the judiciary, legislature both at the state, local government and federal levels. The Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDA) and commissioners of health but none of them has done anything.

“The last National Assembly under a medical doctor called Bukola Saraki, who claimed to be a doctor, he knows about this vaccines but for four years he was not interested. All he is interested in is how to make money, that is what all of them are doing,“They are making stupendous amounts of money from foreign grants whereas the money they would have got from supporting a research with a useful output would have been mine. It could have earned Nigeria billions of dollars every month because my treatment is effective against three dreaded and dreadful viruses. My treatment prevents and cures HIV, hepatitis C virus and hepatitis V virus but the Nigeria government is not interested.

“The people who elected them, it is now up to them to join me put pressure on them about the stupidity, cruelty shown to Nigerians who elected them.”
Abalaka, had in 2015, said he would only release his vaccine recipe to the Nigerian government under negotiated agreement.Abalaka said he never claimed his vaccine could cure AIDS.

“The point must be made clear again and again that I do not claim and I have never claimed to have discovered cure or prevention for AIDS,” he said. “I have only developed safe and effective vaccines for the prevention and treatment of HIV, the causative agent of AIDS.”Abalaka said he is prepared to move on after 16 years of legal hurdles although he feels pained that millions of people should have benefitted from his discovery. He said his attempt at finding a way forward in fighting the HIV pandemic came after attending a WHO-sponsored workshop in 1974 in Geneva.

The WHO workshop formed a solid foundation of the conception of his innovation for safe and effective HIV vaccines.He recommended that a national or state emergency vaccination programme for HIV control be created. He said the agency must be completely independent directly under the presidency or a state governor. He said the Nigerian government in collaboration with private sector contributors should also fund the agency.

However, a specialist medical microbiologist and immunologist, Dr. Abiodun Osiyemi, has requested an urgent action by NAFDAC, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), and the Federal Government of Nigeria. Osiyemi who has worked with the Immunology Unit, British Medical Research Council, The Gambia under the leadership of Prof Hilton Whittle, was part of the first team to conduct studies on the Chemokinetics and Chemodynamics of Abalaka’s HIV Vaccine, AZT and 3TC on HIV 1 and HIV2.

Osiyemi said the HIV Vaccine (“Triple Cure Viral Vaccine”) by Dr. Abalaka is a scam and not a cure. “This claim about the action of the vaccine is false and purely propaganda. The Federal Government, Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC must stop the mortalities being caused by the spurious vaccine now,” he said.

Abalaka told The Guardian
“I am a scientist, a medical doctor and a surgeon. Are you, as a journalist not shocked that an expert declared on September 26, 2019 that he investigated a vaccine by engaging the developer on Channels TV in 2000? And based on the one hour Channels TV engagement he vomited all the nonsense ascribed to him in that article? With due respect, if that article was written by the purported author, it is clear that he and I are light years apart. What efforts has he made about producing HIV vaccines and what are the results he obtained?

“I challenge you to arrange a forum for the said expert called Dr. Abiodun Osiyemi to confront me. I will expose his lies to the whole world. All he said about my vaccines are the figment of his evil imagination. What an expert!“I admit I am an ignoramus compared to him but I have developed safe and effective vaccines against HIV, HBV and HCV. What has the expert called Dr. Abiodun Osiyemi produced? “Who will deliver us from this type of expert that just concocts and manufactures lies that even the devil cannot think about? Shaking my head vigorously.

“I confirm the video is bona fide. It is my video clip. I stand by all I said in that video.“The two-page document I give to enquirers about my innovative and successful vaccination therapy against HBV, HCV and HIV.“Am ready for criticism and critics provided they are objective and scientific

“The Vaccine Journal Editorial accompanying the published report of my work said, inter alia: ‘In any case these data are remarkable as they fly in the face of current concepts of immunology.’“All the scientists including gravitational scientists in the United States (US) held that nothing made of iron could ever fly derided two brothers, Ogilvie and Wilbur Wright who were bicycle repairers. But the latter proved them wrong.

“Ditto for the great French Scientist, a non-doctor called Louis Pasteur. Viruses were not known in his days. Yet, against the fury of medical doctors of his day’s who threatened to kill him if the poor boy mauled by a rabid dog that he was treating died, went ahead with his innovative approach, treated the boy and ended up successfully. Pasteur had the consent of the boy’s father for his innovative treatment, and that was for Pasteur.

“Ditto for Edward Jenner and smallpox.
No body makes any new scientific discovery by following the current thinking or concepts of his days.“Dr. Abiodun Osiyemi, with all due respect, is an immunologist, microbiologist etc. far more learned than me.“However there must be thousands worldwide who are as learned or more learned than him in his fields, many more with better facilities for research than he

“HIV was discovered in 1984, since then, the entire medical scientific world has mobilised the huge arsenal of genetic engineering, recombinant technology, viral cultures etc. to develop HIV vaccines. After more than 35 years during which they have spent trillions of US$ worldwide, consistent failure has been the result so far.

“In fact, they tell us that they are not any nearer to success of getting HIV vaccines now than they were 35 years ago.“Just as the Wright brothers and the first aero plane, they cannot come to terms with the fact that a non entity, a surgeon in a country called Nigeria, a country yet to start thinking of how to try to start educating all its citizens, a country thriving on fetishes, charms, cultism, religious bigotry etc. has single handed developed safe and effective vaccines that cure and prevent HIV, HBV and HCV

“Human pride, ego and jealousy have taken over. “They must pull that Surgeon down by all means. That they have done for 20 years assisted wholeheartedly by the Nigerian Federal Government and other Nigerians like Dr. Abiodun Osiyemi. “The crucial issue is that for 35 years they have all failed. They have blocked their brains. The have not been able to open up the envelope of their understanding and reasoning.

“Instead of mourning over their collective failure worldwide for more than 35 years, they now concentrate the thinking and energies into you pulling down the person who has succeeded single handedly, using all sorts of mischief, falsehood, fabrications and the like.“Because they failed to develop HIV vaccines, they turned their efforts on antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and struck an economic goldmine. They are ready to deal with any who discovers HIV vaccines because that will dry up their money-spinning factory of antiretroviral drugs

“Yet Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) and Highly Active Anti Retroviral Therapy (HAART) are very costly, toxic need close medical monitoring and above all, ARTs do not cure HIV infection. “Nigeria and other developing countries are spending huge sums annually on ARTs, using public funds. But our leaders and dishonest experts who are doing nothing to produce HIV vaccines are so daft that all their brains can do is to pull down their own citizen who has, single-handedly, developed safe and effective vaccines against the HIV, HBV and HCV. Nigerians, are the worst enemies of the country called Nigeria!

On April 30, 2019, and as previously arranged, a 30 year-old male American citizen flew into Nigeria seeking my treatment. He came with his laboratory results from the US. His result dated April 17, 2019 from the US showed that his “HCV RNA SER/PLAS, PCR” was “2592 iu/ml”. He was not on any drug combination treatment for his HCV, according to him.

On registering with me on April 30, 2019, his blood samples were taken for basic tests before treatment began. I started treating him on the same day. After seven days of daily treatment with my vaccinations, he had another laboratory test done on May 7, 2019.

The result revealed that his HCV RNA viral load had crashed from 1,750 to <20 IU/ml that is it was not detectable by the machine used.“Worldwide as at today, I am the only person who has developed effective and safe vaccinations, prophylactic and therapeutic against the HIV, vaccinations that are equally effective against the HBV and HCV. “For 35 years the world has tried and failed. None of them qualifies to be called ‘an expert’ on HIV vaccine development. They are all failures at developing safe and effective vaccines against the HIV. The fact and truth of the matter is that Dr. Jeremiah Abalaka, a Nigerian general surgeon and a complete non-entity in virology, immunology, microbiology, genetic engineering, recombinant technology etc. is the only one so far that has successfully developed safe and effective HIV vaccines, preventive and curative. “And he did so in a single-handed research in which he used himself as a guinea pig and used only his meagre family resources. If any one in the world now merits being called ‘an expert in HIV vaccines development’, only Dr. Jeremiah Abalaka merits being called ‘an expert in HIV vaccines development’. That is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. “The fact and truth of the matter is that Dr. Jeremiah Abalaka, a Nigerian general surgeon and a complete non-entity in virology, immunology, microbiology, genetic engineering, recombinant technology etc. is the only one so far that has successfully developed safe and effective HIV vaccines, preventive and curative. “And he did so in a single-handed research in which he used himself as a guinea pig and used only his meagre family resources. And Dr. Abalaka’s approach is equally effective against HBV and HCV.” Abalaka further explains “The HBV infects about 270 million people worldwide. The developed world has developed an effective preventive vaccine against it. Their HBV vaccine is the product of genetic engineering and recombinant technology involving the surface antigen HBsAG of the HBV and as such, it elicits the production of anti-HBsAG antibodies in the recipient. The undiscounted cost of their three doses HBV preventive vaccine taken over a period of about six months is $75 (about N27, 000). The developed world has no cure for HBV infection. “The HCV afflicts about 170 million people worldwide. The developed world has developed effective combination antiviral drugs that cure HCV after daily intake for about 16-20 weeks. In the United States of America (USA), the drugs alone cost about $1, 00 (about N360, 00) per day. $ 90, 000 (about N32.4 million) is the cost of the drugs alone top cure one person of HCV infection “The drugs are toxic with side effects that may last up to a year after the completion of treatment. The developed world has defined cure of HCV infection has the persistent absence of the HCV RNA in a person’s blood three months after completion of treatment with antiviral drugs, the person having tested positive for HCV RNA before commencing treatment. In other words, cure of HCV infection is the achievement of a Sustained Virologic Response (SVR) for three months after completion of treatment. They have no HCV preventive vaccine. “The HIV, a Retrovirus, infects about 35 million people worldwide. After about 35 years of massive global deployment of modern research tools including genetic engineering and recombinant technology techniques at a global yearly cost of billions of US dollars of public and private sector fund, the developed world has not yet succeeded in developing HIV curative or preventive remedies. However, and to their credit, they have successfully developed combinations drugs collectively called ART and HAART that control but do not cure HIV infection. “ART and HAART are costly and toxic and must be taken daily under close medical supervision for life. In the United States for instance, the yearly cost of taking ART and HAART per person is about US$20, 000 (about N7, 200, 000). The discounted lifetime cost per person for ART is $618,900 (about N222.8 million), equivalent to an average monthly cost of $2,100 (about N756, 000). If you just marry these costs with the two facts that UNAIDS and NACA estimate that Nigeria presently has 1.9 million people living with HIV and CDCX estimated in 2015 that about 1.3 million people are infected with HIV in US, you have an idea of the global economic importance of ART for the developed world on a platter of gold in your hands. “Please note that the developed world’s HCV curative treatment is ineffective against HBV and HIV infections. Similarly, their HBV preventive vaccine is ineffective against HCV and HIV. For the developed scientific and medical world, the issue of preventive and curative vaccine or other remedies for these three dreaded and dreadful viruses are not only completely separate and unrelated but they must be tackled and treated accordingly. “Working single-handedly and using only personal resources that spanned eight years (beginning of 1991 to the end of 1998), I have successfully developed safe and effective curative and preventive HIV remedies. His success was the product of innovative approaches to the HIV vaccine albatross after a painstaking study of the features of the HIBV vaccines. “The discovery that his innovative approach also nails HBV and HCV infections was a specially sweet and massive icing on the cake of my research. In a nutshell, I have developed effective and safe curative and preventive remedies against the HBV, HCV and HIV. Many who have been cured of HIV, HBV and HCV infections by his treatment are not willing to come out openly because of the unwarranted stigma that has been exacerbated by the vociferous but false jingles that HIV and HBV infections have no known cure. The many that have been cured by his remedy are his living testimonial within and outside the shores of Nigeria. Some patients cured of HIV infection by his therapy have testified openly in Nigerian Courts. “It is said, “What is good for food for the goose is also good food for the gander”. As has been established and accepted by the scientific medical and developed world for HCV (supra), cure of these three viral infections should be the achievement of a Sustained Virologic Response (SVR) for three months after completion of treatment for any of the three viruses. Succinctly stated, my approach is an autologous remedy, meaning that he prepares it especially from blood of the person and give it back to the same person in a daily outpatient procedure that lasts about two to three hours. “My remedy is purely a human blood product. For all practical purposes, my extremely cheap treatment is far safer than any transfusion of human blood products. My treatment is free of any significant side effects or toxicity. My treatment does not cause the production of any antibodies against portions of the virus involved. “For those with early complicated infections with these viruses, I achieve elimination of the viral genome (RNA and/or DNA) from the person’s blood after about 20 daily treatments spread over about four to eight weeks or less. Before I declare that the person is cured, the person must come for three monthly follow- up visits after the completion of treatment. If at the three months post-treatment visit he or she maintains a Sustained Virology Response (SVR), he or she would be declared cured. “My preventive remedy is mutatis mutandis similar to the curative remedy. Three doses administered at monthly intervals over just two months provide protection against these three viruses. I took the preventive vaccines in early 1999. Despite deliberately challenging himself intravenously on six occasions with fresh blood from six different HIV positive persons a month after completing the third doses of the preventive vaccine, I have been HIV free for the past 20 years. “I have no anti-HIV bodies in my blood. Scores of willing persons who voluntarily took my preventive vaccine in 1999, 2000 and 2001 are alive and well without developing any of these three viral infections and without developing anti-HIV antibodies in their blood. The taste of the pudding is, indeed, in the eating! “So, it is our very humble honour and pleasure with respect to happily and heartily welcome you on board our exciting aircraft of scientific innovative approach that has, in one incredible swoop, yielded safe and effective prophylactic (preventive) and therapeutic (curative, treatment) remedies for HIV, HCV and HBV infections.” [ad] Claim divides medical world However, the claims by Abalaka have divided the medical sector. A school of thought led by the President, National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Segun Olaopa, told The Guardian: “The government should listen to him and let us have some local approach to some world problems. He may just have some answers to the scientific problem.” But others led by President, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Francis Adedayo Faduyile, said, “I find some of the pronouncements there not in line with orthodox medicine because in orthodox medicine there are guidelines of getting treatment and must be strictly adhered to.” The NMA President told The Guardian: “In the management of a patient we must always have a universal way of treating patients. The first one, when there is a discovery, we must be able to present it to the scientific world and the scientific world will need to understand the basis for it, drugs, mode of action, how it works, how it affects other drugs, how it affects other organs, what are short and long term effects on the body. These are minimum standards that we see and pass through when we have a new drug coming in. After knowing that, it will be used on mice, some on cows, rabbits and when it is seen that it is not having deleterious effects they will create different phases of human investigation. “In the history of the world, it is not accepted to use human beings as guinea pigs in such a way that where you have not taken care of all the necessary effects of drugs or any type of new discovery. We do not put into the one for use by human beings and that is why we guide against human beings being used as guinea pigs.“It is after this has passed through all the necessary stages, that it can now be registered and given to human beings at the approximate dose. Any orthodox medical practitioner knows that pathway. You cannot have a drug and only you know what is in it, how it works, knows the dosage and only you will use the drugs. “I doubt if it is running to press, government and National Assembly that make that discovery acceptable. That is not known to scientific world “Today we have a series of drugs that has been used and has almost taken care of almost all the HIV strains and it is still passing through human testing. “You cannot just use it for human testing, I think it is highly unethical if drugs not approved is being used on human subject. I think one will need to understand that there is a clear distinction between traditional and orthodox medicine. “The person who was in the video needed to determine which of the medicine he is practicing. But I can tell you the orthodox medicine, which the Nigerian Medical Association members practice is not in that direction that has been painted by that video seen. “I quite understand that sometimes there is politics in terms of use of drugs, production but largely am not sure if it is right that the $20,000 for the anti retroviral drugs was what the government is paying to the United States (US) government. I doubt if that is correct, because I know for a fact we have many grants that are being given by foreign partners supporting the country to making sure that the drugs are available to people in this country and people are not paying for that. “Lastly I want to call on the public to be wary of such pronouncement, we have had so many and I think it is important to stress that it is not scientific, not orthodox and not the right way of doing things.” The Osiyemi’s team report on Abalaka’s vaccine observed the follow: 1. For the records, I had dismissed the vaccine as fake since 2000 but it is very sad the case is resurfacing as a viral video clip 19 years later. I had the opportunity to engage Dr. Abalaka on the vaccine on Channels on Nigeria in 2000. 2. The vaccine is unwholesome and not suitable for human treatment especially because there is no approval, regulation or control of the administration on people. No clinical trials and no NAFDAC registration. No peer review publication on vaccines or literature on side effects. 3. The claimed vaccine is simply pooled serum containing antibodies from infected people. 4. HIV unlike other viral diseases is not treated by inoculation or vaccination with antibodies 5. HIV depletes the T cell and is a cell mediated immune response involved and not humoral immune response. Osiyemi added: “Very sadly, this vaccine led to the hundreds of deaths of many individuals in 2000-2001. “Kindly Google my name and Abalaka and you would see how I was involved in preventing further genocide through enlightening people that the vaccine is fake “This is the time for Federal Government to act to prevent administration of unwholesome vaccines into human beings just any how in the 21st Century.” Acting coordinator of the joint World Health Organisation (WHO)/Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) HIV vaccine initiative, Saladin Osmanov, cautioned that Abalaka’s vaccine has not been evaluated under the strict protocols required, and his work has not been independently reviewed by experts. Editor of the journal Vaccine, Ray Spier, defended his decision to publish the findings in an editorial accompanying the report. “Time is short and the prevailing situation demands action,” he wrote. “Desperate situations call for desperate measures. I believe that Abalaka has risen to this challenge.” “I have chosen, against the advice of senior colleagues, to publish the report he produced,” he admitted. Colleagues were concerned that Abalaka’s study did not meet western standards for science, Spier told New Scientist.Spier acknowledged this and points out that the findings are published as a report and not a peer-reviewed research paper, though Spier assessed the work himself. But Osmanov insisted: “There are no western standards, or African standards. There are only standard procedures for evaluating the safety and efficacy of any vaccine – and they are more or less the same everywhere.”Spier believes it is important to encourage people to do empirical work in areas most stricken by AIDS. To critics, he said: “Everybody’s entitled to a fair hearing, and when presented with a mass of data it would be churlish to turn it aside.” “I would be extremely sceptical,” said Frances Gotch at Imperial College London, United Kingdom (UK), who heads the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative’s core laboratory in London. She has examined and tested similar claims in the past – all of which came to nothing. But she added: “It is good to keep your mind open.” In his editorial, Spier noted that the validity of Abalaka’s data is an “area of contention” but said: “I certainly do believe in the integrity with which it was presented.” He pointed out that the data is far from perfect and that Abalaka admits that he left samples standing around in the heat.In fact, Spier said that the therapeutic vaccine showed little effect on the 4000 patients tested. These patients showed slight but statistically insignificant increases in weight and in their CD4+ counts, a crucial measure of immune cells. But the therapeutic vaccine did apparently cause “seroreversion” in 20 patients. This means that antibodies against HIV disappeared from their blood, which could indicate that the virus was no longer present. Sixteen patients showed seroreversion to normal for hepatitis C virus and 50 for hepatitis B. However, neither the report nor Abalaka himself will disclose specific details of the vaccines. Abalaka has a patent in Nigeria and said he does not want to risk it being hijacked by a pharmaceutical company. But he said he would release data to individuals willing to sign an agreement.He said the vaccines do not contain any live HIV virus or cause the production of anti-HIV antibodies in recipients. One dose consists of 1 millilitre of pure blood extract with no additives other than standard anticoagulants and an antibiotic to prevent contamination. Spier, who has read Abalaka’s confidential methodology, concedes, “It is a plausible approach”. He hinted: “It is a blood product – you are going back to something like the 1930s’ kind of technology.”He said the reported beneficial effects of the vaccine on hepatitis B and C and malaria are biologically plausible. “I think we are looking at cross-reactivity – maybe something in his preparation jolts the immune system.” But the lack of openness leaves Osmanov seriously concerned about safety. He told New Scientist that the “old tradition of using blood as a source of immunity is a very raw approach”. He is also concerned that the publication of Abalaka’s report by Vaccine could open up “an avenue for other people to start doing whatever they want”. But Spier believes Abalaka’s work is “worthy of more systematic investigation” and Abalaka himself hopes his work will be tested.“It is normal for any reasonable person to be sceptical about any new discovery, including mine,” he said. “What I would expect critics to do is to come and see for themselves.” Abalaka told The Guardian that Spier is one of the few top global scientist/analysts that believe in his work. “Despite all the pressure on him not to publish my work, he defied them and published it. I have confided in him and he is the only person that knows the secret and has kept it and not betrayed me.” Abalaka gets victory at the court In 2000, the Olusegun Obasanjo administration suspended the use of all drugs or vaccines claimed to be used for the prevention, cure or treatment of HIV/AIDS until proper guidelines are approved for the assessing and verification of the claims.The court in its ruling then said there was no evidence that such guidelines were put in place after 15 years. It said the ban on Abalaka’s vaccine was done arbitrarily and therefore illegal, null and void. However, it said Mr. Abalaka could only administer his vaccine with patient’s consent.“Since the government is not doing anything to help them (the HIV patients), it is only proper for the persons so infected to have a right to decide for themselves whether to use Abalaka’s vaccine or not,” the court ruled.Abalaka had sued the FG and the Attorney General of the Federation over the ban on his vaccine, however, NAFDAC volunteered to join the defendants in the suit. The immunologist had argued that his vaccine, made from “pure” human blood does not fall under the jurisdiction of NAFDAC, which regulates drugs made from animal and chemical substances.The court also noted that the desperation surrounding HIV disease is like that of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD which in turn required desperate measure like the transfusion of blood of survivors.It also said that the Nigerian government and NAFDAC have failed to provide cogent reason for the ban or give evidence of any negative side effect of the vaccine. Abalaka, a registered Medical Practitioner, a surgeon and the Chief Consultant of Medicrest Specialist Hospital Limited (the “plaintiff”), started an independent research trial to find an HIV vaccine in 1992. He claimed that following some tests and experiments he conducted on himself and willing HIV-positive subjects, he had discovered a vaccine that prevents HIV infection, and also a cure for HIV that works by inducing a conversion from a seropositive state to a seronegative status. The plaintiff tried to promote his discovery and get the support of the government and other institutions in order to conduct more research. Even though governmental organisations were willing to work with him, the Ministry of Health did not cooperate with him. The Minister banned the vaccine and stated that the Ministry planned to issue guidelines for any assessment on HIV/AIDS product claiming cure or prevention. After 16 years, however, no such guidelines had been set out. [ad] The plaintiff therefore sought a declaration that the ban or suspension of the use of the HIV vaccine discovered by the plaintiff is illegal, null and void and of no effect, as the ban violates the patent granted to plaintiff; and an injunction restraining the federal government from implementing a ban or in any way interfering with the use of the patent or the plaintiff’s vaccine. Going forward Indeed, some schools of thought are worried that these claims and counter-claims by researchers and stakeholders with regard to cure or vaccine for HIV/AIDS have continued to traumatise Nigerians and the world, rather than all concerned evolving a synergy in their research work.It is believed that for any professional to truly claim a breakthrough in his scientific research, such a result must be subjected to laid down procedure of scientific analysis at least, to test the veracity of the claim. It is also believed that in the interest of justice, equity and good conscience, the patent right to any such discovery should be guaranteed before, during and after the necessary scientific analysis. Stakeholders urged the authorities to investigate the claim and if true insist that traditional/conventional or spelt out procedures be followed as distancing self from the claimants amounts to throwing away the baby with the bathtub.On the other hand, stakeholders recommend that if the claim is found to be a fluke, or the claimant is discovered to have breached professional ethics, he or she should be made to face disciplinary action; that, it is not enough to disclaim the work. Indeed, Nigerians are waiting to see the consequences of the claims and counter-claims. [ad]