Peter Deusberg has died. The biologist is centrally responsible for the HIV denialist movement, which has killed many people and which rages to this day. This despite the fact that combination antiretroviral therapy has been on the market for 30 years and has proven to be one of the most successful pharmaceutical interventions in history.
In the early 2000s, South Africa's president fell under the sway of American HIV denialism and delayed the roll out of HIV treatment. An estimated 300,000 people died as a result.
I interviewed Christine Maggiore, one of Duesberg's most able lieutenants, in 2006, right after her daughter died of AIDS. She was the most paranoid and mistrustful person I've ever met. She died of AIDS herself a few years later.
To put it simply: HIV, left untreated, causes AIDS. AIDS is fatal. But HIV treatment works. It extends life to near normal and it prevents transmission.