Some people think that HIV is not the cause of AIDS. They dispute the connection between HIV and AIDS, the existence of HIV itself, or the validity of HIV testing and treatment methods. These claims, known as "AIDS denialism", are rejected by the scientific community. However, they have had a significant impact, particularly in South Africa. There the government's official embrace of AIDS denialism (1999–2005) was responsible for its weak response to that country's AIDS epidemic. It has been blamed for hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths and HIV infections.