Do stealth infections cause cancer, heart disease, and other deadly ailments?

Dr. Lois Atkinson,
professor of Biology at Schenectady County Community College

This is the recap of a talk given at the April 13, 2002 CDHS monthly meeting.

At our April meeting, Dr. Lois Atkinson, professor of Biology at Schenectady County Community College, reviewed Paul Ewald's book: Plague Time. By describing Ewald's hypotheses and giving us an overview of the supporting evidence, she presented a startling new view of the diseases ranging from cancer to mental illness which may be caused by "stealth infections".

Ewald's first hypothesis is:

"Infection is at the root of the major chronic diseases of our time. Infectious agents should be considered as at least part of the etiology of apparently noninfectious conditions."

Dr Atkinson listed a number of cancers that are already known to have a viral cause. These include Adult T-cell Leukemia, cervical cancer, Kaposi's Sarcoma, and mammary cancer in animals. Despite the well established infectious causation in animals, it has been largely dismissed as a cause of human breast cancer.

Using many major diseases as examples, she described the evidence for viral causation and contrasted this with the current emphasis placed on associated risk factors (which contribute to disease, but might not be the primary cause). Dr. Atkinson also noted the curious tendency medical research has had for the last 100+ years of making the viral connection only to forget about it again for decades at a time.

Atherosclerosis (degeneration of the arteries caused by a buildup of fatty deposits, which accounts for half of all deaths in U.S.): Dr. Atkinson brought two freeze-dried human arteries which were passed around the room for all to see. The risk factors for Atherosclerosis are smoking, high-fat diet, high cholesterol and iron levels, high blood-pressure, markers of inflammation, and genes. Having several of these risk factors appears to put an individual at higher risk. But none of the risk factors appears to be a primary factor. Dr Atkinson stated that "Ewald claims that this line of reasoning runs contrary to the track record of great achievements in medicine, which have all resulted from principles of primary causation". Also, half the people with Atherosclerosis don't have even one of the risk factors. Medical experts place causes into three categories: 1. bad genes, 2. bad environment and 3. infectious causes. Ewald feels that the first two categories are blamed for too much and the third is ignored when it is actually the primary cause for major diseases. He suggests the risk factors of Atherosclerosis make an attractive environment for the primary cause: a virus called Chlamydia pneumoniae. Many studies of heart-attack patients and atherosclerotic plaque have shown a link between the virus and this disease. Dr. Atkinson gave us a time-line of Atherosclerosis research to show that this idea is not really new: 1820 - first research into the Atherosclerosis inflammatory process; 1870 - first proposal of infectious causation; 1940 - first evidence that Chlamydia pneumoniae was involved; 1950-idea of infectious causation faded away.

Another good example is ulcers. In 1874, Arthur Boettcher published a paper describing a bacterium he found in stomach ulcers. Over the years, animal research confirmed the bacterial cause of ulcers and by the late 1940s ulcers were treated successfully with antibiotics. But by the 50s this knowledge faded away for some unknown reason until 1980 when a researcher rediscovered the bacterial cause. However, no one paid much attention. Finally, when an article was printed in The National Inquirer (of all places!), and one researcher actually drank the bacterium, became infected with ulcers, and then cured himself with antibiotics - then people started to pay attention. A possible explanation for this reluctance to see a viral causation may be due to its inconspicuous nature. Chronic illnesses without an immediate or distinct acute phase are difficult to connect to an infection.

Other diseases that are suspected of having a viral cause include the following: Schizophrenia (Borna Virus, Retrovirus HERV-W, HSV2 virus, Toxoplasma gondii), Bipolar disease (Borna virus), Alzheimer's (Chlamydia pneumoniae), Multiple Sclerosis (Haemophilus influenzae, Herpes virus 6. There are "hot spots" of MS in certain areas of the world, suggesting infection).

Ewald's second hypothesis:

"The evolutionary hypothesis says that if you can make it so that sick people cannot pass on infections and that only healthier people can, you should favor the evolutions of more benign strains."

In order to survive, a virus needs to use a host as a source of food and place to reproduce. It also needs to move to another healthier host before the first one dies. The most successful viruses are the ones that are skilled in both maneuvers. In its attempt to control infectious diseases, modern medicine uses a three-prong approach: hygiene, antibiotics, and vaccines. Ewald suggests this approach should also include the goal of evolutionary control in order to make viruses less lethal. By eliminating the opportunities for an infection to reach a new host, we can lower its virulence. Examples of this would be staying home when you are sick, mosquito-proof housing, separation of sewage and drinking water, and condom distribution efforts.

The tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. is hospital-acquired infections, which highlights the need for handwashing and sterilization. Although antibiotics may help an individual patient, the more they are used, the more antibiotic resistance develops. The solution is to reduce the need for antibiotics through hygiene and vaccines and restricting antibiotic use to "dead-end" infections that will not have an opportunity to spread resistant organisms to others. In order to shift away from "broad-spectrum" antibiotic use, testing should be done so that a "narrow-spectrum" antibiotic can be prescribed. Dr. Atkinson encouraged us to incorporate these approaches into our lives when possible and strongly suggested we throw out our individual supplies of anti-bacterial soaps to discourage antibacterial resistance.

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