Fernando Aiuti, the "scientist of love" who changed the perception of HIV with a kiss

In 1991, the Italian immunologist kissed a young woman with HIV in front of the media, debunking the false myth that the virus was transmitted through saliva.

Irene González-Higuera

Kissing, caressing, or hugging poses no risk to the HIVThis statement about the human immunodeficiency virus, which now seems so obvious to us, was not so 30 years ago. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, people with HIV were labeled a public menace, even by the very institutions that governed them. World Health OrganizationIt was believed that the virus could be transmitted through the simplest contact, and kissing an infected person was practically a death sentence. Amidst all this misinformation, an Italian immunologist named Fernando Aiuti refused to turn away the patients who came to his office frightened after receiving a positive HIV diagnosis. He dedicated his entire life to researching HIV, trying to find a possible cure. His son, Simone Aiuti, recounted his story in a documentary. RAI StoryHe said that the first time he heard about HIV he was about 12 years old and his father asked him not to go near the refrigerator at home because he kept test tubes with the virus there so he could continue his research.

Dr. Fernando Aiuti in his laboratory (Photo: Università di Roma)Expand

Unfortunately, Dr. Aiuti never managed to find his long-awaited cure for HIV , but he did achieve something equally important: ending the stigma surrounding kissing.

On December 2, 1991, Fernando Aiuti attended a National HIV Congress held in Cagliari, Sardinia. That morning, the newspaper "Il Mattino di Napoli" ran the headline: "HIV is transmitted through saliva ."

The immunologist couldn't allow information that, according to his own research, was false and that increased the stigma surrounding people with HIV, to continue spreading like wildfire. That's why he went to find Rosaria Lardino , a 25-year-old woman who had been sick since she was 17.

While thinking and debating what their next step should be, one of the two commented that the only way they could end the myth was kissingWhat started as a joke ended up becoming reality: Fernando and Rosaria kissed in front of the media who had come to the congress.

The historic kiss between Dr. Fernando Aiuti and Rosaria Lardino, who was HIV-positive (1991) Enlarge

Both knew that the image would silence the fake news, but also that it would stir up controversy. Fernando Aiuti was not only labeled crazy and reckless, but was also accused of misinforming the public about the real danger of sharing saliva with someone living with HIV.

However, both the photograph and the news that the doctor had not been infected went viral worldwide. An act as simple as a kiss ended up becoming a powerful tool for changing the perception of what HIV had been like until then.

Years later, doctor and patient met again for dinner, and he remarked, "When we die, we'll be remembered for that kiss." He was right. Fernando Aiuti passed away in 2019 at the age of 84, forever known as the " scientist of love ."