AIDS: Human grain will be resistant to HIV weevil

Imagine an AIDS free world. What would change socially in the world? The first time I heard of HIV/AIDS was in late eighties, 1987 to be precise and I was eight years old. Joe Muriuki and Ugandan Phylis Lutaya brought -mdudu- as we called it to our screens. It was remote then, infecting ‘other’ people. A decade later it had spread and today every home is affected.


I received a call from the village and as is the rule, I was informed of the latest souls to depart. I was not shocked but I sighed at the thought of another addition to the statistics. Today HIV/AIDS has infected infants, teens, adults and the senior citizens. Sexual freedom devoid of responsibility has spelled doom for this generation.

My late grandmother was a bright woman, whenever I visited her I would inquire from her how people were doing before I visited them. Her response on some of my enquiries would be- “that one has been infested by weevils,” she would turn her neck sideways in resignation to their fate. That was her way of saying they had contacted the HIV virus and that they would not live long. Once grains have been infested by weevils, you cannot completely eradicate them. The best option is preventive and so it is with HIV virus.

This scourge has created social paradigms in third world countries. It has raised poverty levels by weakening bread winners and drowning resources. AIDS has diverted resources meant for other important sectors into a bottomless pit.

Researchers have made great strides towards finding a cure for this disease. So far we have drugs that slow down the virus, while the focus is on finding a vaccine. My theory is not to trash the efforts of these great brains that have devoted their lives to this end. Our hope lies in our ability to develop a natural ability to resist this virus.

I am none the wiser to delve into the intricacies of biochemistry and molecular biology involved in the research for a cure. I will shed light on evolution theories (I have my reservations) which my lecturers taught me.

Nature abhors liabilities, weak species or elements in a species. So all the people infected will pass on eventually if a cure does not come by soon. The virus has been mutating so fast that it has evaded researchers trying to decode it. These different strains have made the ‘weevil’ to spread deeper and wider into the human ‘grain.’

This mutation as much as it is a challenge it may lead us to the evasive light at the end of the tunnel. Imagine if the virus mutates into a softer version of the virus due to ARV impact. The other option is a strain that that is ARV resistant, both ways could lead to a breakthrough.

The softer strain will be weaker as time goes by while the stubborn strain will shorten the life of those infected thus reducing the rate of new infections. The soft version may become a natural vaccine or inhibitor while the other may become as deadly and rapid as ebola with time.

Those who will be lucky to escape will survive and give birth to healthy children. The offspring tend to be stronger and sophisticated than the parents. These children may be able to resist or withstand HIV/AIDS. There is a possibility of a human generation coming up that is totally HIV resistant.

Meanwhile sex is booming across the divide. Older men are known to prefer younger ladies, now older women are preying on young men. This is one frontier that will complicate the war on AIDS, as young people will be infected then infect each other. If we can all agree to consciously reduce infections then we can begin to dream.

As we make baby steps towards seeking solution to this calamity, I believe God created nature in a way that it balances out extreme situations. Global Warming and HIV/AIDS are a threat to human survival today and in the near future. I can’t wait to see how nature will readjust back to equilibrium if it happens in my lifetime.

My grandmother may have left the weevil causing havoc to the next generation. Her great grandchildren may usher a new era of HIV resistant generation.