Robert Willner

Robert Willner (21 June 1929 — 15 April 1995) was a doctor from Florida who became famous for his role in AIDS denialism, the view that AIDS is not caused by HIV infection.

Willner described himself as originally an "orthodox" physician who slowly transitioned to alternative medicine, particularly following his wife's 1978 struggle with cancer chemotherapy.[1] In 1995, Willner asserted that "I am convinced you can prevent all diseased with diet, lifestyle changes, sanitation."[1]

Willner's Florida medical license was suspended in 1990 following a Florida Board of Medicine ruling that Willner had made inappropriate medical claims for food products.[1]

On October 14, 1993, in a press conference at Arrecife de Lanzarote, Spain, Willner jabbed his finger with blood from Pedro Tocino, hemophilia patient who tested HIV positive after VIII factor transfusions.[1][2][1]

Willner authored a book presenting his point of view on the relation between HIV and AIDS, titled Deadly Deception: the Proof That Sex And HIV Absolutely Do Not Cause AIDS.[3] The book was published shortly after Willner's medical license was revoked for, among other things, treating an AIDS patient with ozone therapy.[2]

The following month, on October 28, 1994, in a press conference at a Greensboro, North Carolina hotel, Willner jabbed his finger with blood he said was from an HIV-infected patient.[1][2]

Willner died April 15, 1995, of a heart attack.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "AIDS: Word from the Front", SPIN, Feb 1995, Vol. 10, No. 11, pp.71-72, ISSN 0886-3032
  2. ^ a b c Cohen, J. (1994). "The Duesberg phenomenon" (PDF). Science 266 (5191): 1642–1644. Bibcode 1994Sci...266.1642C. doi:10.1126/science.7992043. PMID 7992043. http://www.sciencemag.org/feature/data/cohen/266-5191-1642a.pdf. 
  3. ^ Willner, Robert (September 1994). Deadly Deception: the Proof That Sex And HIV Absolutely Do Not Cause AIDS. Peltec Publishing Company Inc. ISBN 978-0964231610. 
  4. ^ Bugl, Paul. "The Rise of HIV/AIDS". Department of Mathematics, University of Hartford. http://uhavax.hartford.edu/bugl/rise.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-22.