SIR WILLIAM DUNN SCHOOL OF PATHOLOGY
        UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

SOUTH PARKS ROAD, OXFORD OX1 3RE

TELEPHONE OXFORD 57321

TELEGRAMS PATHOLOGY -OXFORD

       VERTEBRATE VIRUS SUBCOMMITTEE
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE ON TAXONOMY OF VIRUSES

Dr Harold E Varmus
Professor of Molecular Virology
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco
California 94143, USA

4th January 1985

Dear Harold,

It was very nice to hear from you  - thanks very much for your

letter of 19 December, responding to my November newsletter.

I did not know that you have updated the summary of Retroviridae

for Interviroloqy. Perhaps you had mentioned that you were working
on it, but it slipped my mind. In any case, I am delighted, and I look
forward to seeing it (I'm sure you know that the protocol is for any
taxonomic papers from a VVSC Study Group to pass through the VVSC
chairman, although I don't expect to have anbthing to add or subtract
in your case).

The news about the AIDS virus is startling! Another family of

human retroviruses? When you have adequate data to take a firm
position on this, I will be happy to tell Bob Gallo the facts. After all,
I have no vested interest in the matter.

With best wishes,

David W Kingsbury

C.C. Dr Fred Brown

Dr David H L Bishop