Paris, France, Feb 11 – French scientist Luc Montagnier, who gained the Nobel Prize for his co-discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS, has died aged 89. In a statement released on Thursday, the Mayor of Paris suburb where he was hospitalised said
Montagnier died on Tuesday at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, northwest of the center of Paris. Mayor Jean-Christophe Fromantin has advised AFP. Fromantin has stated that he has possession of Montagnier's death certificate.
President Macron has praised Montagnier's efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS, stating "It is one of the greatest medical and scientific challenges of the 21st Century." He sends his condolences to Montagnier's family.
Montagner and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of HIV, which causes AIDS.
However, he was sidelined by the scientific group in later years as he took positions considered too unorthodox, notably towards vaccines.
His popularity was elevated during the Covid-19 pandemic when he claimed the virus was laboratory-made and that vaccines were to blame for the appearance of variants.
The passing of Montagnier has been surrounded by misinformation on-line, but AFP hasn’t yet been in a position to secure affirmation.
The lack of info about such a well-known matter seems to be a turned image of Montagnier’s current standing in the scientific field.
"Today, we celebrate the decisive role of Dr. Luc Montagnier in the joint discovery of HIV," stated the anti-AIDS group Aides.
"This was a fundamental step forward, but one which was sadly followed by several years during which he drifted away from science, a fact we cannot conceal," it stated.
Montagnier made his key HIV discovery in the early Eighties when AIDS cases began to grow and infected people had little chance of survival.
He found the groundwork for AIDS therapies that was released 15 years later and can keep patients with the disease alive.
The invention was adopted by a protracted dispute between Montagnier and the group of US researcher Robert Gallo over whose function had been extra necessary. Ultimately they agreed the Frenchman had remoted the virus, whereas the American had exclusively found its link to the virus.
Montagnier has been defending some ideas that have been discredited by the scientific group, such as homeopathy. He claimed 'water memory' is a real thing although it's not supported by the scientific community.
Montagnier, while trying to establish himself within the public eye during the pandemic, did not have much scientific backing for his opinions on vaccinations.
The preliminary feedback I've received has come from opinionated figures with anti-vaccination stances.
A response from President Emmanuel Macron’s authorities from analysis minister Frederique Vidal, who stated that she felt “emotional” and supplied her condolences to Montaigne’s household, however no point was made out of his latest scientific positions.
