Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1986. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - May 1, 1986
The proposed name, to be published in the journals Nature and Science, holds little significance for the public, patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome or further research on the disease, which destroys the body's ability to resist infection.
But in the political and legal battles between American and French researchers over who should get the credit and rewards for discovering the virus that causes AIDS, the issue of names takes on more importance.
Until now, the closely related variations of the virus have been most frequently referred to as HTLV-3, for human t- cell lymphotropic virus type 3, or LAV, for lymphadenopathy associated virus.
HTLV-3 is the designation given by Dr. Robert Gallo and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute, co-discoverers of the virus and leaders in the American research effort. LAV is the name used by Dr. Luc Montagnier and associates at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, also credited as discoverers of the virus.
Dr. Gallo did not sign the letter and has said he would continue to use the name HTLV-3.
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