IN MEMORY
We were very saddened to hear about the recent death of Betsy Brotman's
husband, Eric Brian Garnham, an engineer from Great Britain. Garnham was
responsible for the maintenance of the laboratory facilities in Liberia
for the New York Blood Center group. This facility was not only an L3 collection
site for the EMCF and a study site for O. volvulus infections in
chimps but also, of course, a major contributor to hepatitis research.
Thanks to the efforts of diplomacy between the Blood Center staff and Charles
Taylor's group in Liberia, the safety of the laboratory staff had up until
now been maintained. Garnham was killed when hostile forces entered his
and Betsy's home. It is especially difficult to accept aggressive acts
against individuals who are living and working in foreign lands in order
to help improve the lives of the people living there. Since our work in
studying onchocerciasis often takes us to countries torn by internal strife,
perhaps we all need to look at the safety of individuals more strongly than
ever before. To Betsy Brotman, her family and colleagues, we express our
deepest sympathy.