DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Services
National Institutes of Health

MEMORANDUM

date: 4/28/87

from: Florence S. Karlsberg

subject: Peter Duesberg's view that HTLV-III does not cause AIDS

to: Dr. Peter Fischinger, Dr. Howard Streicher, Dr. William Blattner, Dr. Robert Gallo

I want to alert you some incidents that have occurred in the past 24 hours:

• Monday, 4/27, 5:15 p.m.: Anti-NIH gay playwright Larry Kramer spoke with CDC public affairs office re Peter Duesberg's article in March 1 Cancer Research (copy attached) indicating that there is no substantial evidence that HTLV-III causes AIDS.
  
• Tuesday, 4/28, noon: Don Berreth, DHHS assistant secretary for public affairs (7), received call from Robert Cook of Newsday RE Duesberg's assertion.
  
• Don Bolbovsky of HIH information office (496-5787) has said DHHS is quite anxious and awaiting feedback re NIH/NCI response to and strategy for this provocative situation.
  
• I have contacted DCZ's Stu Aaronson, in whose lab Peter Duesberg is spending some time as a visiting scientist and Fogarty scholar. Peter's office is in the Stone House. Stu Aaronson said that Bob Gallo and others have tried to educate Peter re HTLV-III and AIDS-but it's hopeless. Stu suggests that the following NIH scientists may appropriately address Peter's controversy:

(1) William Blattner---first and foremost---because Stu thinks that the weakness of Peter's arguments are best highlighted by the epidemiologic studies on this virus and its associated diseases.

(2) Dani Bolognesi of Duke University

(3) Tony Fauci of NIAID

(4) Bob Gallo has spoken with Peter in the past and Peter persists with his arguments. Perhaps the epidemiologic approach might be more productive in countering Peter's assertions.

cc: Pat Newman, Paul Nevel, Eleanor Nealon, Linda Anderson