A 'passenger virus', according to the
Duesberg hypothesis, is a
virus that simply 'hitchhikes' in the body of a person without causing
symptoms,
illness or
disease. From a
disease perspective, therefore, a passenger virus may be thought of as inert.
Conventional
AIDS theory asserts that, through
antigen or
antibody testing, it is possible to detect the presence of a specific virus,
HIV, commonly thought to be the primary cause of AIDS. However, this indirect detection of the widely presumed trigger for AIDS is disputed by some researchers, including
Peter Duesberg and
Kary B. Mullis (inventor of such a test and 1993
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry). Such indirect evidence of viral agents, according to Duesberg and Mullis, frequently yield false antigen positives and other improper results.
Standard
AIDS theory supposes that the indirectly detected HIV may not be a mere passenger virus, but may, in fact, actually cause serious disease symptoms in individuals by compromising the
immune system. This is the conventional medical view of the cause for
AIDS. If the mainstream theory is correct, that would contradict the notion of the blameless passenger virus defined above.
See also
★
Stealth virus