Discovery of Viruses

1892 – Dimitrii Ivanovsky observed that agent of tobacco mosaic disease passes through porcelain filters that retain bacteria

1898 – Marcus Beijerinck makes the same observation; concludes that the pathogen must be a distinctive agent

1898 – Friedrich Loeffler and Paul Frosch (former students of Koch), find that causative agent of foot-and-mouth disease is filterable (the first animal virus)

1901 – Yellow fever virus – Walter Reed (the first human virus)

1903 – Rabies virus (Remlinger, Riffat-Bay)

1908 - Poliovirus (Karl Landsteiner and E. Popper); chicken leukemia virus (Ellerman, Bang)

1911 – Rous sarcoma virus (Peyton Rous)

1915 – Bacteriophages -Frederik Twort, Felix D’Herelle

1931 – Swine influenza virus (Shope)

1933 – Human influenza virus (Smith)

The name virus was coined from the Latin word meaning slimy liquid or poison. It was originally used to described any infectious agent, including the agent of tobacco mosaic disease, tobacco mosaic virus. In the early years of discovery, viruses were referred to as filterable agents. Only later was the term virus restricted to filterable agents that require a living host for propagation.

credit to http://www.virology.ws/

About Microbiology

Have you ever wondered about how small germs are? And what are germs anyway? Are you always being told to wash your hands? Do you know why?

The tiny things you know of as germs are known as bacteria by scientists. They are very small and you can’t see them. Many thousands could fit on a pin head. They are alive, in the same way that you are, or a dog is, or a plant is. The study of these and other small living things or organisms is called Microbiology.