Infectious Diseases with Passion
He was one of the pioneers in the fight against AIDS in the 1980s and a leading figure in the fight against COVID-19. Here’s a look back at a career dedicated to infectious diseases, which earned Professor Jacques Reynes the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor on August 27, 2021.
He came very close to becoming a physics teacher. After an impeccable academic career at the Collège and Lycée Joffre in Montpellier, Jacques Reynes briefly considered that path. But the call of medicine was already drawing him in, and it was a difficult choice for him… In the end, he chose medicine, and today many patients are grateful for that decision.
After studying medicine at the University of Montpellier, where he was interested in “everything except surgery, ” Jacques Reynes quickly turned to infectious diseases, influenced by André Bertrand, then a professor of infectious diseases and therapeutics. After a stint in Nice to complete his residency, the physician returned to his hometown and became an assistant chief resident at the Montpellier University Hospital in 1985.
Dark times
This was back in the 1980s, “a dark period, ” recalls Jacques Reynes as he describes the emergence of a new disease that left everyone baffled: AIDS. “We were dealing with difficult situations that didn’t end well,” says the infectious disease specialist, who decided to tackle the problem head-on. “I wrote my medical thesis on the prevalence of HIV among drug users, a pioneering topic at a time when tests weren’t yet commercially available.”
The man who is now head of the Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at Montpellier University Hospital established the entire HIV care system in Montpellier at that time, ranging from outpatient consultations to day hospitalizations and home care. At the same time, the physician—who was appointed professor in 1997—became deeply involved in evaluating new antiretroviral and antifungal treatments, which led to his inclusion in the expert groups drafting recommendations for the care of HIV patients.
Threefold mission
For Jacques Reynes, clinical research is an absolutely fundamental aspect of his profession. “We fulfill a threefold mission of teaching, research, and patient care: teaching to train young people and share our experience, research to optimize treatments, and patient care to ensure patients receive the best possible treatment. ” And he is unequivocal: “If certain patients are still alive today, it is thanks to these innovative treatments.” The need for innovation is all the more pressing in light of the emergence of drug resistance, which Jacques Reynes notes “is part and parcel of infectious disease medicine.”
And while the treatment of AIDS today “is less of a matter of life and death, ” new drugs and strategies are still being evaluated. The challenge? “To improve patients’ quality of life, particularly by extending the intervals between treatments,” explains Jacques Reynes.
Immunocompromised patients
In the new building of the Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, named the “André Bertrand Infectious Diseases Center,” Jacques Reynes and his team have 22 inpatient beds at their disposal to combat bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. “One disease that hasn’t gone away is tuberculosis. Between population movements, co-infections with HIV, and resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs, it’s a real problem.”
Another major challenge is the care of immunocompromised patients, who are highly susceptible to infections. “Transplant patients, those with malignant diseases, or those with inflammatory conditions requiring immunosuppressive therapy—all are at higher risk of infection, ” warns the specialist.
Acknowledgments
This field of care requires a broad range of skills—essential for practicing a discipline in which Jacques Reynes has “covered every aspect.” In fact, for the past four years, infectious diseases has been recognized as a specialty in its own right. This academic recognition has more recently been followed by recognition among the general public. “This is one of the positive aspects of COVID-19: the general public has become aware of the risk—which is obvious to us—of the contagiousness of viral respiratory diseases.”
Infectious diseases, a “true passion” for Jacques Reynes, is “a rapidly evolving field that demands attention and responsiveness.” It is a discipline he has helped shape over the years, a contribution that had already earned him the Academic Palms before he received the Legion of Honor from Philippe Augé, president of the University of Montpellier, on August 27, 2021.