World-renowned virologist and scientist Gita Ramjee has become the first Indian descendant in South Africa to have died after contacting the novel coronavirus that has taken five people’s lives in the country. Ramjee, a stellar vaccine scientist and an HIV prevention research leader, had come back from London a week ago to South Africa and apparently showed no symptoms of COVID-19.
In 2018, Ramjee was conferred with the outstanding Female Scientist Award in Lisbon by the European Development Clinical Trials Partnerships for her lifetime commitment to finding new HIV prevention methods and risk factors involved in women.
She expressed with pride and considered the award as an acknowledgement of the unwavering determination by a global community to change the trajectory of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Professor Gita Ramjee aged 50 years, is an eminent HIV prevention research leader who contributed largely to the global response to curb the HIV/AIDS epidemic. She spearheaded as Clinical Trials Unit Principal investigator and unit director of the HIV Prevention Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) offices in Durban.
SAMRC president and CEO Glenda Grey was saddened by Gita’s unexpected tragic death and said it was due to Covid-19 complications. Unfortunately her dreams were crushed on contacting Corona virus and she is no more.