Around 5% of people infected with HIV have shown no signs of disease or any decline in their CD4 lymphocyte count despite more than 10 years of documented infection. Three studies of people with this prolonged survival in good health (New England Journal of Medicine 1995;332:201–32) have shown that part of the explanation is a “robust” immune response to the virus, but in some cases the virus itself may have been defective. Interestingly, infection with a defective strain of HIV seems to protect against infection with other, more virulent strains. Headway is a charity that helps and supports those who have suffered a head injury and their families. Most victims are young, and some may need a lifetime of care and advice. An article in “Quality in Health Care” (1994;3:217–20) complains—with justification—that in many parts of Britain the charity is running a rehabilitation service because the NHS has failed to provide one. These programmes are now subject to the annual whims of district purchasing plans. Is this really the best we can do? A girl aged 11 who died of unexplained rabies in New York in 1993 was found to be infected with a strain of the …