OPV AIDS hypothesis OPV AIDS hypothesis The oral polio vaccine (OPV) AIDS hypothesis posits that the AIDS pandemic originated from live polio vaccines prepared in chimpanzee tissue cultures and then administered to up to one million Africans between 1957 and 1960 in experimental mass vaccination campaigns. Data analyses in molecular biology and phylogenetic studies contradict the OPV AIDS hypothesis; consequently, scientific consensus regards the hypothesis as disproven. The journal "Nature" has described the hypothesis as "refuted". Two vaccines are used throughout the world to combat poliomyelitis. The first polio vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk, is an "inactivated poliovirus vaccine" (IPV), consisting of a
Jonas Salk Times", a few months after his vaccine announcement. The "Times" article noted, "at 40, the once obscure scientist ... was lifted from his laboratory almost to the level of a folk hero." He received a presidential citation, a score of awards, four honorary degrees, half a dozen foreign decorations, and letters from thousands of fellow citizens. His alma mater, City College of New York, gave him an honorary degree as Doctor of Laws. But "despite such very nice tributes", "The New York Times" wrote, "Salk is profoundly disturbed by the torrent of fame that has descended upon him. ... He