Fernando Aiuti

Italian immunologist and politician (1935–2019)

Fernando Aiuti
Born	(1935-06-08)8 June 1935 Urbino, Italy
Died	9 January 2019(2019-01-09) (aged 83) Rome, Italy
Alma mater	Sapienza University of Rome
Known for	Founder and first president of ANLAIDS Association
Scientific career
Fields	Immunology

Fernando Aiuti (8 June 1935 – 9 January 2019) was an Italian immunologist and politician. He was the founder and first President of ANLAIDS Association.^[1]

Biography

Born in Urbino in 1935, he graduated with a degree in medicine from Sapienza University of Rome.

In 1991, during a congress at the Fair in Cagliari, the possibility of AIDS being transmitted orally was being discussed. Aiuti suddenly took Rosaria Iardino, an HIV-positive woman, and kissed her on the mouth,^[2] trying to convince public opinion that the virus could not be transmitted orally. A journalist photographed the scene and this photo became internationally famous.

Aiuti was head of The People of Freedom list in 2008, and was elected to the municipal council of Rome for The People of Freedom with the mayor Gianni Alemanno, until 2013.

He was appointed chief within the health policies commission of the Roma municipality (2008–2013), were he express against the closing of the public hospital San Giacomo degli Incurabili.^[3]

He was full professor at Sapienza University and, in 2010, he was there appointed emeritus professor.^[4]

Aiuti died on 9 January 2019 due to an accidental fall at the Gemelli Polyclinic, where he was hospitalized for an ischemic heart disease.^[5]

Documentaires

2010: "+ o – il sesso confuso. Racconti di mondi nell'era AIDS", direct. Andrea Adriatico and Giulio Maria Corbelli^[6]

References

^ "30 anni di Anlaids", la storia dell'aids raccontata dalla prima associazione nata per combatterlo. "La lotta non è finita, c'è un contagio ogni due ore"
^ Rosaria Iardino: «Io, 26 anni, dopo il bacio con Aiuti vivo con l’Hiv grazie ai farmaci e alla famiglia»
^ abitarearoma.it: Esposto di Italia Nostra alla procura sul San Giacomo
^ Il Fatto Quotidiano: Aiuti, l'immunologo che si batteva per sconfiggere i pregiudizi, 9 gennaio 2019.
^ La Stampa: Italia: Morto l'immunologo Aiuti caduto dalle scale in ospedale. Non si esclude il suicidio, 11 January 2019
^ + o – Il Sesso Confuso. Racconti di Mondi nell'era Aids