Irish Times

Friday, June 29, 2001

Doctor warns of widespread famine

By Dr Muiris Houston, Medical Correspondent

Prof Robert Gallo, the doctor who first identified the AIDS virus and developed a test for it, has warned of widespread famine and industrial collapse if the HIV epidemic is not adequately addressed.

He also criticised politicians for not recognising the potential for the HIV epidemic to destabilise the world.

Dr Gallo is in Dublin to attend the International Conference on Human Retrovirology in Trinity College Dublin this week.

He said scientists had been telling governments for some time of the likelihood of widespread famine and industrial collapse as a consequence of AIDS.

"This will not be limited to Africa," Dr Gallo said, "and I welcome the recent report of the United States National Security Council which outlined the serious economic fallout we face from the continuing global epidemic."

He also welcomed this week's special UN Assembly on AIDS and its commitment of substantial funding to tackle the problem. "The problem is so serious, we may need to consider direct taxation to provide a continuous flow of funds to reverse the epidemic," he said.

Dr Gallo is director of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. A leading HIV research centre, it is now looking at new forms of AIDS treatment which will be less toxic and easier to administer.

"A colleague of mine, Anthony de Vico, is making considerable progress in the area of AIDS vaccination," according to Dr Gallo. This will not be a traditional vaccine such as those used to prevent polio or measles, but a so-called modified vaccine, which will target certain proteins involved in producing AIDS.

"The institute is excited about the possibility of introducing a more biological form of treatment which can be administered two or three times a year by injection", he said.

Dr Gallo said that, provided it passed regulatory tests, the new treatment should be available in five years.

Referring to the unique problems surrounding AIDS in Africa and Asia, he said that issues of male domination and sexual promiscuity must be addressed as part of the solution.

Dr Gallo welcomed the commitment of Dr Michael Boland, the Skibbereen doctor who is president of the World Organisation for Family Doctors, to make the AIDS epidemic a priority during his term of office.

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2001

Answers

I heard last week on Dateline? that the numbers are going up in the gay comunity and in the high school age groups.

Kids are not thinking, and the gay community seems to be thinking that it isn't as bad as tey thought. After all, people who have it are living normal lives now. [Yeah, what is normal? Surely not that...]

Anyway, in the story, there was mention of the ads used to inform about the newest drugs used to treat HIV and AIDS. Showing guys mountain climbing and such. Not realistic, says the government, which has informed the manufacturers that they must stop those ads and show more realistic images.

Sure is a shame that the kids don't listen.

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2001

Barefoot, you're absolutely right. The new drugs don't hold off the disease indefinitely, and there can be really nasty side effects, like huge blobs of fat appearing on the body.

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2001

Also, somewhere in these archives, there are reports from both the UK and US about new strains of AIDS which do not respond well to the AIDS drug cocktails currently in use. Just as predicted by many, AIDS is mutating and will continue to do so. It's only sheer luck that a more readily contagious strain hasn't yet developed.

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2001

Seems like every time I try to do some research on Gallo, he comes up a major sham. But he's sufficiently accepted that his line of reasoning on Aids research seems to rule. I just hope we haven't wasted the last 20 years.

-- Anonymous, June 30, 2001

He wasn't liked when his character was portrayed by Alan Alda in that movie way back when...

I forget the name of the movie.

-- Anonymous, July 01, 2001

"The band played on" ?

-- Anonymous, July 01, 2001