Book accuses 'U' prof. of infecting tribe

By Lisa Koivu

Daily Staff Reporter

A book scheduled to be released in November calls into question the reputation of a former University professor, accusing him of conducting genocidal testing on the Yanomami tribe in Venezuela.

Investigative journalist Patrick Tierney's book, "Darkness in El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon," contends that Neel - a genetics professor at the University who died in February - and his associates administered a measles vaccine to the tribe with the knowledge the vaccine could be fatal.

The vaccine spurred measles-like symptoms, which could kill the natives because of their lack of immunity to the disease. The book alleges that James Neel continued to distribute the vaccine, consequently killing hundreds of members of the Yanomami tribe.

An excerpt from the book, obtained by The Guardian newspaper in London, said that Neel was directing the expedition.

One excerpt said the team "refused to provide any medical assistance to the sick and dying Yanomami, on explicit order from Neel. He insisted to his colleagues that they were only there to observe and record the epidemic, and that they must stick strictly to their roles as scientists, not provide medical help."

Adding more fuel to the fire was an e-mail message written to the heads of the American Anthropological Associa

tion by two anthropology professors - Terence Turner of Cornell University and Leslie Sponsel of University of Hawaii at Manoa - in which the two concur with Tierney's findings.

"In its scale, ramifications, and sheer criminality and corruption it is unparalleled in the history of anthropology," Turner and Sponsel wrote. "Tierney presents convincing evidence that Neel and Chagnon, on their trip to the Yanomami in 1968, greatly exacerbated, and probably started, the epidemic of measles that killed hundreds, perhaps thousands."

Peter Ward, chairman of the pathology department at the University's Medical School, said Tierney's claims are unfounded, as the measles epidemic reached the tribe a year or two before the research team was present.

"A large amount of the population also died because of the measles," Ward said.

But Ward said there is no way to know the true story.

"I don't think anyone can really know what happened," Ward said. "As far as anybody knows, the individuals were healthy, and the question is did they die because of the virus or the vaccine?"

University Provost Nancy Cantor in a written statement negated some of the items that Tierney addressed.

"Allegations, particularly those involving academic work of highly distinguished scholars in their field, require a fair and proper peer review - not a sensationalized public discussion in the headlines and over the Internet," Cantor said.

"The measles outbreak occurred in November 1967. Measles was introduced into the region by a party of Brazilian missionaries before the January 1968 arrival of the Neel expedition," she said. "There is substantial evidence of the outbreak existing long before Dr. Neel left for Venezuela, so Dr. Neel could not have been the cause."

Cantor also said that compared to normal outbreaks of the measles, the death rate in this tribe was comparably lower.

"The predicted death rate from untreated measles is 30 percent to 36 percent; the most common complication is bacterial pneumonia. In this outbreak, the death rate was a very low 8.8 percent, showing clearly that proper medical care was provided," she said.

The American Anthropological Association issued a statement on the allegations, in which it said that if proven true, a serious violation of the Yanomami human rights and of the AAA Code of Ethics would have occurred. But, the association it will conduct a full investigation to decide if Neel violated its code.

"This book presents the views, conclusions and opinions of its author. It is extremely important, however, that other individuals featured in the book be afforded the opportunity to express their own views on its contents," the association's statement said.

Turner issued another e-mail Thursday in which he said he did not necessarily believe what Tierney had written, but instead had wanted to warn the AAA of what could possibly happen.

"The sole purpose of the memo was to describe these allegations, in order to warn the leaders of the association of the nature of the allegations that were about to be published and the scandal they would probably cause for the whole profession," Turner said.

The AAA wants to hold an open forum during its annual meeting next month so members of the association can discuss issues raised in the book.