Georgia: The General Director of Infectious Pathology, AIDS and Clinical Immunology Center, Immunologist, Professor, and Medical Sciences, Dr. Tengiz Tsertsvadze, died at the age of 76 on August 1, 2024. The Georgian Medical Society and the whole of Georgia suffered a great loss.
His efforts in developing Georgian medicine are invaluable. He was the founder of the HIV/AIDS service, and with his efforts, Georgia was able to prevent the widespread epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Tengiz Tsertsvadze was the main initiator, fan, and successful implementer of state programs for hepatitis C and B in Georgia. His contribution to the management of the COVID-19 pandemic is remarkable.
In 2009, the Center for Infectious Pathology, AIDS, and Clinical Immunology, under the leadership of Tengiz Tsertsvadze, received the World Health Organization’s highest award—the Dr. Lee Jong-Wook Prize—for exceptional achievements and research in the fields of HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis.
Tengiz Tsertsvadze was a member of the American Society for Infectious Diseases, the European Liver Diseases Association, the New York Academy of Sciences, the AIDS International Society, and several other international medical societies. He will contribute significantly to the country’s critical scientific activities and the work of raising the younger generation.
Tengiz Tsertsvadze has received the Presidential Order of Excellence and the Order of Merit for his great personal contribution to the health of the population, fruitful scientific research, and social achievement. He has also been awarded the title of honorary citizen of Tbilisi.
The Ministry of Health expresses its deepest condolences on the death of a world-class scientist, renowned doctor, and role model for all. Sympathies to the family and loved ones. His death is an irreplaceable loss for the whole Georgian medical community, every colleague, and every field representative. Tengiz Tsertsvadze created an era of fighting infectious diseases.
