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Stalemate over the US’s immigration ban on people with HIV and AIDS
has forced the organisers of next year’s AIDS conference to look abroad
for a new venue.

The Harvard AIDS Institute, which was to host the conference in Boston
next summer, announced last week that it would ‘reluctantly’ look outside
the US for a site because the Bush administration has failed to lift the
controversial ban.

‘This crucial scientific meeting must not be cancelled,’ said Max Essex,
director of the institute. In a surprise move, Essex also announced his
resignation as chair of the conference, and the appointment instead of Jonathan
Mann, former head of the World Health Organization’s Global Programme on
AIDS. Essex said he wanted more time for his laboratory work.