The New York Times - November 7, 1986

The researcher, Dr. Luc Montagnier of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, said the new virus was first thought to cause only rare cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. But he said new evidence suggested that the virus, designatewd LAV-II, was a major cause of the disease in west Africa and had spread to several countries in western Europe.

"We are just at the beginning of the spread of a new virus," he said. "It is unavoidable at some time that LAV-II will reach the United States."

He said scientists in France had isolated the new virus in about 63 people. Of those infected with it, 11 have AIDS and 10 have AIDS-related illnesses, he said. So far, seven patients have died. The rest have not become ill.

New Finding Was a Surprise

Dr. Montagnier said the original AIDS virus was the most common cause of the disease in central Africa. But in west Africa, where fewer cases of the disease have occurred, LAV-II may be the major cause. "This finding was really a surprise to us," he said.

The original AIDS virus was isolated in 1984 by Dr. Montagnier, who called it LAV-I, and by Dr. Robert C. Gallo of the National Cancer Institute, who called it HTLV-III.

Dr. Montagnier's remarks, made at a recent meeting of the American Association of Blood Banks, were received with caution by other researchers, who said his conclusions might be premature since they were based on studies of fewer than 100 patients.

"I would be more conservative," Phyllis Kanki, a Harvard University scientist said, adding that it was too early to conclude that LAV-II infections were widespread in humans. Virus Is a New Danger

Dr. Montagnier said the new virus often went undetected by standard blood tests for AIDS.

"This is bad news for blood bankers," he said. "We should require future tests to detect 100 percent of the donors infected with the new virus."

The AIDS virus attacks the body's immune system, leaving the victim vulnerable to a variety of infections and tumors. It is believed to be passed through blood and semen, but not through casual contact. The groups at highest risk for getting the disease are male homosexuals, intravenous drug users and recipients of contaminated blood products.

As of the end of October, 26,875 Americans had developed the disease and 15,070 had died, according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Dr. Montagnier said the new virus appeared to infect both men and women and could apparently be transmitted by heterosexual contact or through the blood. He said it had not been detected in homosexual men or in intravenous drug users.

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