President’s adviser doubts military miracle cure

In an unexpected development, Presidential Adviser for Scientific Affairs Dr. Essam Heggy called the military’s claims to have found a cure for HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C “unrealistic” and “lacking clear scientific basis,” privately owned newspaper Al-Watan reported.

In an official press conference on February 23, an Armed Forces officer declared that, “We have vanquished AIDS. We have vanquished Hepatitis C.”

Heggy noted the alleged discovery “has never been published in any prestigious scientific journals” and criticized the detection device the Armed Forces is touting.

The so-called cure uses electromagnetism to treat HIV and Hepatitis C and can allegedly diagnose both diseases from a distance. The invention includes both a diagnosis component called C-Fast, on which research began three years ago, as well as a treatment dubbed Complete Cure.

“In my opinion, a sensitive subject like this harms the state image and will have negative effects on scientific research,” Heggy told Al-Watan. “I wish they had been more careful when publishing such information [about the project].”

According to Heggy, neither the president, nor the defense minister was consulted regarding the details presented about the invention.

“They were both surprised with what was said without them being consulted. Their presence at the conference doesn’t mean their approval of it,” Heggy was reported as saying.

The doctor said he considers the so-called cure “an insult to Egypt both internally and abroad,” and is scheduled to meet interim President Adly Mansour and Defense Minister and Armed Forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi next week to discuss procedures for announcing future scientific research.