Plea to Africans on A.I.D.S. publicity

Press, 17 January 1986, Page 20

Plea to Africans on A.I.D.S. publicity

NZPA-AP Paris The head of the French team which discovered the A.I.D.S. virus has pleaded for African governments not to fear the publicity from research into A.I.D.S. Dr Luc Montagnier of the Pasteur Institute confirmed that some African officials had recently warned scientists they would be barred from researching in their countries unless they published their results only in scientific journals, and not in conference speeches. Dr Montagnier told the Anglo-American Press Association the pressure came at a conference in Brussels last November on “A.I.D.S. in Africa — which is the correct term, not African A.1.D.5.” “They were afraid of press reaction” to speeches, he said. Dr Montagnier said he could not identify all the countries involved, so preferred not to name any, but he specified Zaire was not involved — “there has never been any block to research there.” “We have to make African governments understand it’s in their interest to do epidemological studies,” said Dr Montagnier. “The truth will become known anyway.” Dr Montagnier noted that Africa was probably where humanity originated “so it would not be surprising to find some viruses originated there too.”

Dr Willy Rozenbaum, a leading clinician treating A.I.D.S. victims, told the luncheon that African governments were “not entirely wrong” in fearing Africa would be labelled as the origin of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. “There could be a phenomenon of rejection as happened to Haitians in the United States” after A.I.D.S. was first linked to Haitians, he said.