YEREVAN (BBC)–Armenian AIDS pioneer Dr. Lev Zohrabyan has said he is ready to treat Azerbaijani AIDS sufferers despite the state of war between the two countries. He also said that the drug he has developed – Armenicum – has virtually cured Russian patient Nikolay Kolesnikov and obliterated the AIDS virus in the 20 people treated so far. The following are excerpts from the report by the Armenian news agency Snark:
As of today–44 patients suffering from AIDS are being treated with the medicine Armenicum. These are mainly Armenian citizens–but there are patients from other countries as well. Lev Zohrabyan PhD–director of the Republican Scientific Center for AIDS Prevention and Research and doctor of medicine of Washington University–claims that the AIDS virus has been discovered neither in the blood nor in the cells of the 20 patients who have been treated with Armenicum. The medicine has not produced any side effects yet.
Zohrabyan says that the state of health of "the most popular patient in the CIS–Nikolay Kolesnikov–is good." However–Armenian doctors refrain from any predictions yet–but they think that as of today–he is practically healthy and that he can even get married and have healthy children. But Zohrabyan pointed out that–like all the other patients who have been treated with Armenicum–Kolesnikov should remain under medical observation.
As for the state of health of the patient who arrived from Ukraine in a very dangerous state–Zohrabyan said it had somewhat improved. In any case–Armenian TV viewers had the chance to be convinced after watching a report on this issue on National Television. The bloody–claret-colored and deep scabs on the patient’s body turned pink within five days and looked healed–at least on the TV screen.
Asked about the readiness of Armenian doctors to help Azerbaijani patients in the event of an appeal to do so–Zohrabyan answered in affirmative. The existing [Nagorno Karabakh] conflict–he assured us–will have no impact on the quality of medical aid. "If Armenian doctors fail to save an Azerbaijani patient–I am afraid it will be seen badly," Lev Zohrabyan pointed out with regret.
According to official data 83 HIV-positive people have been registered in Armenia–13 of whom have made a full recovery.
