French discoverer of HIV virus Luc Montagnier dies at 89


Team Udayavani, Feb 11, 2022, 10:51 AM IST

AP photo

Paris: French researcher Luc Montagnier, who won a Nobel Prize in 2008 for discovering the HIV virus and more recently spread false claims about the coronavirus, has died at age 89, local government officials in France said.

Montagnier died Tuesday at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a western suburb of the capital, the area’s city hall said. No other details have been released.

Montagnier, a virologist, led the team that in 1983 identified the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which causes AIDS, leading him to share the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine with colleague Francoise Barré-Sinoussi.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute in a written statement Thursday to Montagnier’s “major contribution” to the fight against AIDS and expressed condolences to his family.

Montagnier was born in 1932 in the village of Chabris in central France.

According to his autobiography on the Nobel Prize website, Montagnier studied medicine in Poitiers and Paris. He said recent scientific discoveries in 1957 inspired him to become a virologist in the rapidly advancing field of molecular biology.

He joined the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in 1960 and became head of the Pasteur Institute’s virology department in 1972.

“My involvement in AIDS began in 1982, when the information circulated that a transmissible agent — possibly a virus — could be at the origin of this new mysterious disease,” Montagnier said in his autobiography.

In 1983, a working group led by him and Barré-Sinoussi at the Pasteur Institute isolated the virus that would later become known as HIV and was able to explain how it caused AIDS.

American scientist Robert Gallo claimed to have found the same virus at almost exactly the same time, sparking a disagreement over who should get the credit. The United States and France settled a dispute over the patent for an AIDS test in 1987. Montagnier was later credited as the discoverer of the virus, Gallo as the creator of the first test.

Since the end of the 2000s, Montagnier started expressing views devoid of a scientific basis. His opinions led him to be shunned by much of the international scientific community.

As the COVID-19 spread across the globe and conspiracy theories flourished, Montagnier was among those behind some of the misinformation about the origins of the coronavirus.

During a 2020 interview with French news broadcaster CNews, he claimed that the coronavirus did not originate in nature and was manipulated. Experts who have looked at the genome sequence of the virus have said Montagnier’s statement was incorrect.

At the time, AP made multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact Montagnier.

Last year, he claimed in a French documentary that COVID-19 vaccines led to the creation of coronavirus variants.

Experts contacted by The Associated Press explained that variants found across the globe began emerging long before vaccines were widely available. They said the evidence suggests new variants evolved as a result of prolonged viral infections in the population and not vaccines, which are designed to prevent such infections.

Earlier this year, Montagnier delivered a speech at a protest against vaccine certificates in Milan, Italy.

Montagnier was emeritus professor at the Pasteur Institute and emeritus research director at the CNRS. He received multiple awards, including France’s highest decoration, the Legion of Honor.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Kundapura: Ulloor’s historic Kambala to be held on November 28

NIA conducts searches at 22 locations to probe human trafficking syndicate

BJP does not take decisions under pressure from Shinde, says Sena (UBT) leader

Gangavathi: School excursion bus overturns; Four students sustain injuries

Maha polls: Army, partner forces flew 140 sorties spanning over 77 hours

Sunil Chhetri helps Bengaluru FC stage comeback win over Mohammedan SC

Seer expresses regret over his comments on denying voting power to Muslims

Related Articles More

30 detained over killing of lawyer in clash between Bangladesh police, followers of jailed Hindu leader

‘Monks targetted by Islamist elements’: ISKCON Kolkata flags Bangladesh issue to Modi govt

Jaishankar says Indo-Pacific landscape calls for wider collaborative approach, terms G7 as partner for it

Will impose 25 per cent tariff on all imports from Canada, Mexico: Trump

Internal divisions leave open question whether Gandhi’s vision will ever be fully realised in India: Bill Clinton

MUST WATCH

Grafting

Coconut Flower

Prakash Belawadi

Naxal Leader Vikram Gowda

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing


Latest Additions

Equity markets rise in early trade amid buying in HDFC Bank, SBI

Money laundering case: ED team undertaking searches attacked in Delhi

B’luru: Four policemen get 7 years imprisonment in custodial death case

Where are we taking country for political dividends: Sibal after ‘Shiva temple in dargah claim’

Kundapura: Ulloor’s historic Kambala to be held on November 28

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.