SPEECH BY PRESIDENT mcaleese at the 10th international conference on human retrovirology
SPEECH BY PRESIDENT mcaleese at the 10th international conference on human retrovirology Monday, 25 june, 2001
Tá lúcháir orm bheith anseo libh inniu ag an ócáid seo agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl díbh as an chuireadh.
I very much welcome this opportunity to join you today for the 10th International Conference on Human Retrovirology. I would particularly like to extend a warm welcome to the overseas delegates here today – especially those of you who are visiting for the first time. Special thanks to Professor Hall for inviting me and for bringing the Conference to Ireland this year.
I have to confess that as a mere lawyer who knows relatively little about the extraordinary adventures in medicine which bring you here today, I was tempted to walk in carrying a white flag, to surrender instantly and ask you to just talk among yourselves. But I would be drummed out of the lawyers union for such a shameless display of humility. In any case I am here in some way as a representative of the many people whose hope and trust resides in you and in your work. They face into the lonely journey of serious illness and disease day in and day out. They hope for effective treatment. They pray for cures. They place enormous pressures on each of you to bring them answers, to bring them comfort.
In my lifetime I have seen your profession crack the codes of so many medical mysteries. You have helped to give us longer lives, healthier lives, brought us greater resources for coping with pain and a more holistic approach to dying. Your stringent, uncompromising professionalism creates its own pressures. Public expectations create even more. You have to deal with competing priorities, limited budgets, profound ethical questions and a host of other clamouring issues besides just getting the job done and done well. Through the worst challenges that nature brings us, you are the hope-bringers, the healers – keeping a small but unquenchable light burning through the darkness of the despair of so many sufferers and their families from the viruses you are researching.
We owe a particular debt of gratitude to Professor Hall who has made important contributions to Human T-cell Leukaemia/Lymphoma Virus research over the past decade. His service on the Executive of the International Retrovirology Association over the past four years, and his forthcoming term as President, exemplifies one of the purposes of the Association, to bridge the gulf between different disciplines - encouraging new insights and greater understanding that can only come from sharing knowledge.
The Dublin Conference is particularly significant in that this year is the 21st since the discovery by Professor Robert Gallo of HTLV type 1, and the clearly established link between the association of infection by this virus and the development of human leukaemias. The methods used by Professor Gallo – who I believe is here today - to discover HTLV-I were subsequently employed in discovering HIV, the cause of AIDS. A founder member of the Association, Professor Gallo’s success in developing the first blood tests to detect the virus has saved literally millions of lives.I hope we have not become so accustomed to the wonders of science that our sense of awe has been diluted. It is still the curious, caring human mind which asks the questions, seeks the answers and does not give up. Occasions like this provide an opportunity for all of us to acknowledge the miracle of that human inquiring mind, to saythank-you for your dedication to the work of advancing medical research and practice throughout the world. Ultimately the contribution is not just to medicine but to humanity and our well-being.
It is estimated that as many as 20 million people are infected world-wide with the two types of virus - HTLV type 1 and HTLV type 2 – the first of which is associated with aggressive leukaemia and a severe neurological disease which closely resembles multiple sclerosis. Recent studies have indicated that Ireland has one of the highest rates of HTLV infection in Europe in its injecting drug user population. As technology provides answers and solutions - your task gets more and more complex – and is constantly in need of critique and review. Over the next five days you will have many opportunities to do just that - and to share ideas, insights, problems and solutions. It will be an opportunity for those of you who work in specific disciplines to explore the interconnectedness of your related professions – and to pool your talents and skills – away from the daily bustle of your ordinary but vital work.
By my presence here this evening I want to give recognition to that work and the way it continues to bring fresh hope and optimism where there was once little of either. I wish you well as you develop and promote a healthy partnership of expertise worldwide – encouraging a multidisciplinary interaction of epidemiologists, clinicians, virologists, immunologists and veterinarians in the investigation of these viruses and their associated diseases. Each of you owns a bit of the jigsaw puzzle, each bit is needed to understand the whole, each piece only has its fullest meaning when set in the right relationship with the rest and that is the job you are about at this conference, finding all the pieces, putting them in the right place, recalibrating, confirming or challenging what was known yesterday and today so that tomorrow you can bring a new realm of insight and wisdom.
You work, not for yourselves, not for any sectional professional interest but for the well-being of men, women, children, so that their, our lives are lived better. I wish you a successful conference. I hope that what you hear in Dublin will result in a reenergizing and deepening of your vocation, that it will give you an even stronger appetite to face the mysteries which lie ahead and a faith in your ability to solve them in partnership with the colleagues who share these days with you. Somewhere in all the statistics and research and discussions may you find time to develop the friendships and memories which make your own lives worthwhile and happy.
Mo bhuíochas libh arís. Guím gach rath agus séan ar bhur gcuid oibre san am atá le teacht.