IT was a heavenly setting for a medical conference about such a grim subject. The first international workshop on HIV persistence during drug therapy took place last December on the tropical island of St Martin in the West Indies.

At the end of the meeting, the two American members of the organising committee – Robert Gallo, the co-discoverer of HIV, and Roger Pomerantz of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – sat down for lunch at a local cafe. Pomerantz recalls that the air was filled with the little white butterflies for which the island is famous. “There were thousands,” he says. “I doubt Bob even noticed.”

Sipping his beer, Gallo had his mind on a more serious subject. The men had spent the past three days hearing about HIV’s ability to hide from even the strongest anti-retroviral medicines available. Pomerantz asked Gallo the question that had been on everyone’s lips. Did he think it would be possible to eradicate the virus from these hiding places? In other words, would a cure for HIV ever be found?

No, said Gallo, it was impossible. “It was a cordial conversation,” says Pomerantz. “As cordial as you can be, when you really don’t agree.” Because Pomerantz thinks the prospects for a cure are only getting better. Is he put off by one of the world’s most famous HIV researchers dismissing his idea? “Not really,” he says with a shrug. “I have to admit it, I like to tilt at windmills.”

The current dogma, as espoused by Gallo, is that there is no likelihood of a cure for HIV infection. Of course, we should be thankful …