another Clarke opinion from Dr. Pappas, about her claims about parasites.

[Guest guest]

Declaration of Peter W. Pappas, Ph.D.

May 9, 2001

Peter W. Pappas, Ph.D, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ˜ 1746, hereby states

as follows:

 

1. My name is Peter W. Pappas. I am a United States citizen over the

age of 18. I currently reside in Columbus, Ohio.

 

2. 1 have a B.A.degree in biology from Humboldt State University in

Arcata, California, awarded in 1966. In 1968 1 received an M.A. in

Biology from Humboldt State University. I received a Ph.D. in 1971

from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, in zoology,

parasitology, and biochemistry. I served a post-doctoral fellowship

through the National Institutes of Health fi-om 1971-1973 at Rice

University in Houston, Texas in parasitology, and served as research

associate at Rice in parasitology in 1973.

 

3. From 1973 until 2000 1 was a faculty member at The Ohio State

University in Columbus, Ohio. I served as an Assistant Professor from

1973 through 1977, as an Associate Professor from 1978 through 1982

and as Professor of Zoology from 1983 through 2000. From 1989 through

1998 1 was chairman of the Department of Zoology at Ohio State. (The

Departments' name was changed to " Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal

Biology " in 2000.) In 1998 and 1999 1 was the Director of the

Introductory Biology Program at Ohio State. I am now retired from

Ohio State, having been awarded the title of Professor Emeritus, and

I am a technical consultant for LabBook-com in Columbus, Ohio.

LabBook.com develops and markets commercial software for managing

laboratory information and mining genomic databases.

 

4. My specialized academic training is in the area of parasitology --

the study of parasites. In general terms, " parasitologists " study all

aspects of the " biology of parasites, " including, but not limited to,

(1) taxonomy and systematics, (2) life cycles, (3) pathology, (4)

epidemiology (including the distribution, control, and eradication of

parasitic infections), (5) and treatment of parasites and parasitic

infections. Parasitologists might specialize in one or more of the

above areas, they might specialize in the study of parasites

infecting a specific host (e.g., " human parasitology " ), or they might

specialize in other biological disciplines related directly to one of

the above areas (e.g., biochemistry of parasites in relation to

chemotherapy). Many biologists with specialized training in other

biological disciplines study parasites as " 'model systems, " including

evolutionary biologists, molecular biologists, taxonomists and

systematists, and ecologists. Parasitic organisms are extremely

diverse -- virtually every major group of animals has at least one

member that is a " parasite, " and in some groups of animals all

members are parasites. Just like parasites, parasitologists are also

extremely diverse in terms of " what " they study and " why " they study

it.

 

5. While a faculty member at Ohio State University, I maintained an

active research program in parasitology, primarily biochemistry,

physiology, and cell biology of parasites. I have published

approximately 90 articles in refereed scientific journals and edited

three reference books. I have also served on the editorial boards of

five national/international parasitological journals, and I currently

serve as co-moderator of the primary parasitology news group on the

web (bionet.parasitology). My CV is attached.

 

6. At Ohio State University, my primary teaching responsibility for

27 years was an advanced undergraduate/graduate-level course,

Introductory Parasitology. As part of maintaining the course's

content with contemporary parasitological concepts and principles, I

have read extensively in many areas of parasitology and " human

parasitology. " This includes reading and studying many general,

human, and veterinary parasitology textbooks written in the U.S. or

U.K., and extensive readings in the original literature (refereed

scientific journals). For the past five years I have maintained a

large web site (Parasites and Parasitological Resources) designed as

(1) a teaching aid for college-level students and (2) a source of

information for the lay person. The web site contains information on

over 200 species of parasites and over 500 photographic images of

parasites, and most of the important parasites of humans are

included. During a typical month, the web site's home page receives

more than 10,000 hits, and the entire web site receives >150,000

hits. Through an e-mail link in this web site, I receive and answer

many questions from all over the world regarding many aspects of

parasitology. The web site's URL is www.biosci.ohio-

state.edu/~parasite/home.html.

 

7. I became aware of Hulda Clark's claims regarding parasites and

disease in 1996 when I developed my web site. As part of developing

this web site, I conducted extensive searches of the web for other

parasitology sites. In addition to sites that were clearly academic

and instructional in content, I came across many sites that espoused

the belief of Hulda Clark that parasites cause many diseases

including cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, etc.

Throughout my 33 years in academia, I had never heard of nor read

about such a theory. Initially, I simply ignored Hulda Clark and her

theory, as I was simply too busy. However, as my web site developed,

I began to get e-mails asking for my " opinion " about Clark and her

theories. I also discovered that many of the " proClark " web sites had

copied copyrighted images from my web site and were using them

without my permission. Thus, I not only purchased Clark's books, The

Cure for All Cancers (1993), The Cure for HIV and AIDS (1993), and

The Cure for.All Diseases (1995), but I also began an extensive

search for and investigation of " pro-Clark " web sites. Over the past

few years, I have become familiar with Hulda Clark's theories and

many of the web sites that support her theories and sell various

cures for parasites.

 

8. In her writings, Clark makes a number of claims about parasites

and disease. In The Cure for All Cancers, Clark states:

 

In this book you will see that all cancers are alike, They are all

caused by a parasite A single parasite! It is the human intestinal

fluke. [Clark is referring to Fasciolopsis buski, a parasitic

flatworm.] And if you kill this parasite, the cancer stops

immediately. The tissue becomes normal again. In order to get cancer,

you must have this parasite.

 

9. In The Cure for HIV and AIDS, Clark states: " This [parasite] is

the source of the HIV virus (sic) " and a photograph of Fasciolopsis

buski follows. She goes on to say, " The HIV virus (sic) belongs to

this fluke, " and " f it establishes itself in the thymus, it causes

HIV/AIDS. " Furthermore, in both of these books, Clark emphasizes that

effective treatment for this parasite (and, therefore, a cure for

cancer, AIDS, and may other diseases purportedly caused by this

parasite) requires the use of both herbal remedies and electrical

devices " Zappers " ).

10. The claims of Hulda Clark (and many of the web sites that sell

herbal remedies and " Zapper " ) that (1) a single parasite causes

cancer, AIDS, and many other diseases, and that this parasite can be

killed with electrical devices ( " Zappers " ) are not supported by

competent and reliable scientific evidence. This statement is based

on the observations and correspondence summarized below.

11. Cancer, AIDS, and many of the diseases that Clark claims are

caused by Fasciolopsis buski, are distributed world-wide, yet the

distribution of this parasite is limited to S.E. Asia.

12. Clark claims that she has diagnosed this parasite in everyone

with cancer, AIDS, and other diseases, and that she diagnoses these

infections using a " Syncrometer " (an electrical device that somehow

indicates the presence of parasites and/or toxins in the body.)

However, the only reliable and acceptable method for the diagnosis of

Fasciolopsis buski infections in humans is demonstrating the presence

of the parasite's eggs in human feces. Thus, her statement

that " everyone " is infected with this parasite is based on inaccurate

diagnostic methodology. Moreover, if this parasite caused all of

these diseases, the parasite would be found during routine pathology

procedures. I have been unable to find any evidence that this

parasite is found during such routine procedures.

13. Clark's books contain a number of inaccurate statements about the

biology of Fasciolopsis buski and other parasites, so one must

question her as an authority on parasites or parasitic diseases. She

misspells the scientific name of the parasite; she spells the

specific buskii, when the correct spelling is buski. When discussing

any species of living organism, the correct spelling of the

scientific name is essential. In The Cure for All Cancers, the title

for Figure 2 (which is not a photomicrograph) refers to " strings of

eggs from the parasite -- the parasite does not produce " strings of

eggs, " and the eggs are microscopic (cannot be seen without a

microscope). Clark states tliat " [T]he adult [parasite], though,

stays tightly stuck to our intestine (or liver, causing cancer, or

uterus, causing endometriosis, or thymus, causing AIDS, or kidney,

causing Hodgkin's disease.) " The adult parasite does live in the

small intestine, as stated by Clark, but I have been unable to find

any reports (other than Clark's) of this parasite being found in the

human uterus, thymus, or kidney. Clark states: " Some of these eggs

[produced by the adult parasites] batch in the intestine or the

blood. " There is no credible evidence that the eggs of any species of

fluke will batch in the human intestine, or in the blood or time.

There are a few species of flukes in which the eggs normally enter

the blood or tissues (e.g., the schistosomes which cause

schistosomiasis), but, even with these species of parasites, the eggs

do not hatch in the blood or tissue. Clark states that " [w]e all have

tapeworm stages in our bodies.... " and " [e]very tumor, benign or

malignant, has a tapeworm stage in the middle of it, even including

warts. " I have been unable to substantiate either of these statements

in the medical literature. Although Clark has an advanced academic

degree (a Ph.D. in physiology) and an N.D., she has no academic

training as a parasitologist and she clearly does not have a basic

understanding of the most fundamental parasitological principles.

14. There is overwhelming evidence in the form of peer-reviewed

articles appearing in scientific journals that virtually all types of

cancer result from the uncontrolled division of cells, and that the

uncontrolled division of cells has a genetic basis. That is, cancer

is caused by the activation or inactivation of specific genes that

control the division of cells; it is not caused by a parasite. If

this parasite truly causes cancer and, therefore, kills thousands of

people each year, how could this parasite go unnoticed? Even in areas

of the world where Fasciolopsis buski is endemic, there are no

published studies that demonstrate (1) a relationship between this

parasite and cancer and (2) that curing this parasite cures cancer.

The only studies that support these theories are those mentioned in

Clark's books, and her studies lack scientific integrity. Similarly,

there is overwhelming evidence that AIDS is caused by HIV (human

immunodeficiency virus), not a parasite.

Although there's some disagreement as to when and where HIV was

introduced first into the human population, it is clear that it was

not a prevalent disease until the early 1980s. However, Fasciolopsis

buski has been recognized as a human parasite for hundreds of years,

a fact recognized by Clark in her books.

15. Hulda Clark believes that parasites cause many common diseases.

In the terminology of the scientific method, Clark is stating a

hypothesis or statement of belief. However, the scientific method

requires that, for a hypothesis to be accepted as a theory, the

hypothesis must be tested. That is, controlled, empirical, unbiased

experiments must be done. Moreover, the experiments and their results

must be reviewed by other scientists to insure that the experiments

were conducted properly and that.the data are unbiased. This is what

differentiates good science from bad science. Herein lies a major

flaw with Clark's theories. Her hypotheses have not been tested using

controlled experiments, and her methods of collecting data are

biased. Rather, most of the diseases were diagnosed and treated by

Clark, and Clark also claimed the diseases were cured. Thus,

Clark's " case histories " represent an egregious example of a highly

biased experimental protocol, and her theories are based on bad

science.

16. After reading Clark's books and receiving many e-mails asking

questions about Clark's theories, I tried to find information in the

original literature. (The articles in refereed scientific journals or

reputable reference books) that would support Clark's beliefs.

Despite extensive searches of numerous major academic and medical

libraries and extensive scientific and medical databases, I could not

find a single article that supported Clark's theories about

Fasciolopsis buski and diseases.

17. In early 1999, I posted the following statement on my web site:

Hulda Regehr Clark claims that this parasite causes " all diseases, "

cancer, and HIV and AIDS, and several web sites use these claims in

their advertisements to sell various " cures " for these diseases.

There are no peer-reviewed, published, scientific studies

demonstrating that Fasciolopsis buski causes any of these diseases in

humans. Furthermore, there are no peer-reviewed, published,

scientific studies demonstrating that the various treatments,

tinctures, cleanses, electrical devices (e.g., the " Zapper " ), etc.,

sold through these web pages have any therapeutic value.

18. In response to the appearance of this statement, I received

several e-mail messages from David Amrein, the President of the " Dr.

Clark Research Association. " Mr. Amrein asked that I remove this

statement from my web site, and, in hopes of finding supporting

information, I responded with the following: " Tell me where I can

find information that supports the theories of Hulda Clark,

information that has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and I

will remove the comments from my web page. In fact, if you tell me

where I can find this information, I will be more than happy to (1)

include the information in my web page and (2) add an apology to my

web page. I await anxiously your response. " Despite my very clear

request for information, Mr. Amrein did not provide any information

that would support Clark's theories.

19. Later in 1999, Mr. Tim Bolen (who is referred to as " a media

consultant " on the " Dr. Clark Research Association web site) and Mr.

Leo Regehr [Hulda Clark's brother] sent a number of e-mail messages

to me and various administrators at Ohio State University complaining

about the statements on the website. I made them the same offer that

I made to Mr. Amrein. I received no information that refutes the

comments that are included in my web site. I must assume that no such

information exists.

I declare under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing statement is

true and correct.

Executed, this 9th day of May, 2001 at Columbus, Ohio.

Peter W. Pappas, Ph.D.

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