A Review Of The Book "PLAGUE"

PLAGUE    BY Kent Heckenlively, JD and Judy Mikovits, PHD 


Not enough people are questioning the current pandemic of emerging degenerative disease. What is causing such an influx of autoimmune disease, different cancers, Autism, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ALS, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, thyroid problems, Multiple Sclerosis, allergies…etc.? When I was a child in the 50s, it was a rare person who was afflicted with allergies or a chronic illness. Now these diseases are commonplace and it’s almost as if they are being accepted as normal! Well….. this far-reaching plague of chronic illness is far from normal and we had better figure out the causes before the human race becomes extinct. This may not be an exaggeration. Here is a quote from Hillary Johnson who wrote Osler’s Web and the forward to “Plague”. “Any collective memory of just how suddenly and aggressively this disease (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFS) emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially in large coastal cities like new York, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, recedes with each passing year. Anyone born after, say 1985 or 1990 will be unable to recall a period in their own lives when this scourge was virtually unknown.”

Diet plays a definite role in determining our health. Chemicals in the environment also factor into the equation….. and…. let’s not forget about genetically modified foods. However, the one main area that is basically being overlooked is the role that microbes are playing in the world’s fast deteriorating health. Our medical system does not focus on prevention or cures (despite the claim of all disease charities). Do you know of ANY disease charity that has found a cure for “their” disease? I haven’t come across any. Finding and treating causes of disease is not in the best interest of the medical system. The medical industry profits from chronic illness, not in curing it. This is why we only have drugs that treat the symptoms of disease while the real causes progress under the surface.

The new book “Plague” by Kent Heckenlively and Judy Mikovits may hold some of the answers to these crucial issues. Dr. Judy Mikovits was a respected and prominent molecular biologist who began her career researching cancer. As her research evolved, Mikovits discovered a retrovirus, named XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia related virus), in much of the chronic illness population. XMRV has also been widely found in prostate cancer. This is a startling and important discovery. You would think there would be much discussion and research taking place so that a cure for these chronic illnesses could be found and implemented. Instead Dr. Mikovits’s research has been minimized, discredited and basically buried.

The basic theme of the book “Plague” centers on Judy’s discovery, her work with the chronic illness population, her job at the Whittemore Peterson Institute, her undeserved dismissal and arrest…and the discrediting of her important work. Money, power and vested interests appear to have fueled these actions against Mikovits. People whom she trusted turned against her. However, Mikovits will not be silenced, which is why she and Kent wrote this groundbreaking book. More and more people will be standing beside her as they realize the criminal activity taking place within our government health agencies, which are covertly funded by the drug companies.

The main argument of the scientific community…which formed the basis for the discrediting of Mikovits’s work, was that other scientists could not replicate her work and therefore it was falsely determined that her findings of XMRV in much of the chronic illness population, was due to lab contamination. However, one of the reasons scientists could not duplicate Mikovits’s findings was because they did not follow her protocols. Was this intentional? Mikovits also wrote a paper detailing the reasons why her XMRV findings were not due to lab contamination.

I was particularly interested in one of Mikovits’s research discoveries. Here is a quote from page 172 and 173, which shares this discovery. “ It’s a simple retrovirus, which means its expression, the on and off switch, is controlled by just –-- and we’ve learned this --- it’s unpublished data, by just three things. The response to hormones and the response to inflammatory cytokines. It’s called NF Kappa B element. Cortisol, which is the stress hormone, turns on the virus very rapidly, and continues to have it expressed. So do inflammatory events as caused by other pathogens. And so do hormones like androgens and progesterone, which also make sense with regard to prostate cancer.” I found it extremely interesting that CFS Patients and Lyme disease patients (who also harbor the XMRV virus) often become weaker and sicker when exposed to stress (which releases cortisol, which turns on the virus). The stress can be exercise, concentrated thinking, change in temperature, etc. This may be proof that CFS and “Chronic Lyme Disease” are not just a result of a “weak or malingering personality”, as some so-called experts on CFS profess.

Kent Heckenlively does a superb job of weaving together the many important elements in Mikovits’s riveting story of her suppressed efforts to share her important research findings concerning XMRV. Mikovits is calling for more honesty and openness in the scientific research community. How can we progress in finding causes of the rapidly increasing number of illnesses if only profitable research is allowed? Do we need to privately fund researchers to make sure we can investigate root causes instead of just looking for ways to come up with partial or false causes where only symptomatic treatments are offered? Here are some of the issues that need addressing with further research.

1. How is XMRV transmitted?
2. More real research is needed into what turns XMRV on
3. Is XMRV a main cause of our emerging degenerative diseases, could it work in collaboration with other bacteria and viruses, and/or is one of its main functions to turn off the immune system?

Until scientists are funded for looking into real root causes of disease, we are going to continue to experience a huge increase in disability and mortality. This book needs to be widely read to increase awareness and interest in the XMRV virus. “Plague” contains some technical information which I feel is necessary in order to get across the seriousness of this issue…. but it does not affect the readability for the average person. This book contains all the elements of suspense, corruption, betrayal, fearlessness, and is a definite page-turner. Let’s all come together to support Judy Mikovits in her quest for honesty and openness in scientific research. All of our lives depend on science being implemented for real human progress instead of only for profit. This admonition also holds true for the very people who are complicit in medical corruption. We are ALL affected.

http://www.plaguethebook.com/