Meet a CSIR virologist who specialises in the prevention of communicable diseases

During the early 1990s, few could foresee the extent of the scourge of HIV/Aids on the African continent. Dr Hazel Mufhandu, a CSIR virologist and HIV expert, was a teenager at the time, unaware of the fact that she would eventually devote a career to unravelling the secrets of a virus that would infect more than 10% of the South African population and annually kill thousands. In high school, Mufhandu dreamt of becoming a medical doctor, the obvious choice for a youngster who fared well in maths,biology and physical sciences.