Bee venom destroy HIV and cancer

I was so surprised to read that bee venom can cure deadly diseases
such as Hiv, cancer and others. It seems this will be one of the hopes
for sufferers of those diseases.

According to a post from nairaland.com:

Scientists have discovered that
apart from pollinating crops,
producing honey, beeswax ,
propolis, pollen and royal jelly,
bees could also be the solution to
the deadly Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
and cancer.
Recently, a team of scientists at
the Washington University School
of Medicine, USA, used
nanoparticles carrying a toxin
found in bee venom to destroy
HIV without harming nearby
cells.
The report was contained in the
current issue of Antiviral Therapy.
Explaining the modus operandi,
Dr. Samuel A. Wickline, one of the
researchers said; "Bee venom
contains a potent toxin called
melittin that can poke holes in
the protective envelope that
surrounds HIV and other viruses.
It has even shown melittin-
loaded nanoparticles to be
effective in killing tumor cells."
In an interview with Vanguard in
Ibadan recently, Mr. Ayodele
Salako, an apiculturist
(beekeeper), corroborated the
assertion of the researchers.
"The bee sting is very medicinal.
A bee keeper who is stung by a
bee every now and then, will not
complain of any ailment because
the bees have taken those things
away from you by enhancing
your immunity. That is one of the
best works of bee venom."
He demonstrated this by
administering bee venom
therapy on some people with
pains in various parts of the
body like the waist, hands and
knees. All recipients said the
pains stopped after a few
minutes.
Comparing the bee venom and
other anti-HIV drugs, Joshua L.
Hood, another researcher said
"most anti-HIV drugs inhibit the
virus's ability to replicate. But this
anti-replication strategy does
nothing to stop initial infection,
and some strains of the virus
have found ways around these
drugs and reproduce anyway.
The bee venom toxin is different
because it attacks an essential
part of the virus' structure. The
melittin forms little pore-like
attack complexes and ruptures
the envelope, stripping it off the
virus.
"We are attacking an inherent
physical property of HIV," said
Hood, "and there isn't any way
for the virus to adapt to that. The
virus has to have a protective
coat, a double-layered membrane
that covers it," so if the covering
is destroyed, the virus is
destroyed.
"Because the bee venom toxin
has been engineered not to
attack healthy cells, a womanly
gel loaded with bee venom
particles, could be ideal for
couples where one partner has
HIV and they want to have a
baby," the report said, adding;
"It's also theoretically possible
that intravenous injections of the
nanoparticles would be able to
clear HIV from the blood stream,
a virtual miracle for those who
have tested positive."