WHO’s Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System established
Since 1952, global influenza surveillance has been conducted through WHO’s Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). The…
The Zikus virus was identified in humans
In 1952, the Zika virus was identified in humans. The virus was first discovered in Uganda in 1947….
DNA is found to be the genetic material of some viruses
In 1952, Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase showed that only the DNA of a virus needs to enter…
The Chikungunya virus was first recognized and isolated in southern Tanzania
In 1952, the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) was first recognized and isolated from Makonde Plateau in southern Tanzania. Chikungunya…
The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System was created by the WHO
In 1952, the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) was created by World Health Organization (WHO) to…
Monkey kidney tissue to be the most fertile environment for Polio virus growth
In 1952, Dr. Jonas Salk and his team found monkey kidney tissue to be the most fertile environment…
Biotechnology | COVID-19 | Diagnostics | Life Science History | NIH | Non-Profit Research | Polio | Vaccine
Henrietta Lacks died from cervical cancer, and HeLa cell line was born
On Feb. 8, 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a tobacco farmer from Virginia died from cervical cancer, and a scientist…
The Zikus virus was discovered in Uganda
In 1947, the Zika virus was first discovered during research supported by the Rockefeller Foundation to study the…
Dr. Jonas Salk was recruited to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
In 1947, Dr. Jonas Salk was recruited from the University of Michigan by Dr. William S. McEllroy, dean…
Karl Habel cultivated mumps virus in embryonated eggs and devised serological tests for its presence
In 1945, Karl Habel cultivated mumps virus in embryonated eggs and devised serological tests for its presence. Habel…
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NCI scientists published first monograph that showed the mouse breast cancer “agent” was a filterable virus
In 1945, W. Ray Bryan, Michael B. Shimkin, Howard B. Andervont, Herbert Kahler and Thelma B. Dunn published…
Inactivated influenza vaccine was first licensed in the U.S.
In 1945, the inactivated influenza vaccine was first licensed in the U.S. The first vaccine was an inactivated,…
Karl Habel and John Enders isolated the mumps virus
In 1945, Karl Habel and John Enders isolated the mumps virus. Habel and Enders had successfully cultivated the…
Use of cell cultures for virus growth was discovered
In 1944, the use of cell cultures for virus growth was discovered. This allowed viruses to be cultured…
Karl Habel published his work in passaging a rubella virus isolate through chick embryos and monkeys
On Jul. 31, 1942, Karl Habel published “Transmission of Rubella to Macacus mulatta Monkeys” in Public Health Reports….
Karl Habel produced an improved, killed rabies vaccine that eliminated foreign brain tissue caused paralysis
On Sept. 6, 1940, Karl Habel produced an improved, killed rabies vaccine that eliminated foreign brain tissue that…
Influenza vaccine developed to protect U.S. military forces
In 1938, Thomas Francis, Jr., MD and Jonas Salk, MD served as lead researchers at the University of…
Sir Macfarlane Burnet discovered that influenza virus could be grown in embryonated hens’ eggs
In 1936, Sir Macfarlane Burnet discovered that influenza virus could be grown in embryonated hens’ eggs. This led…
Scientists created the first filter able to trap viruses
On Jul. 8, 1933, Christopher Andrewes, Laidlaw and W Smith from the Medical Research Council (MRC) reported that…
Wendell Stanley purified a sample of tobacco mosaic virus and finds crystals
In 1933, Wendell Stanley purified a sample of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) and finds crystals. This suggested, contrary…
The etiology of ‘swine influenza’ was established
In 1931, Rockefeller Institute investigator Richard Shope published the first of three landmark papers that established the etiology…
Ralph Lillie demonstrated that the cause of psittacosis was a rickettsia-like organism instead of a virus
In 1930, Ralph Lillie demonstrated that the cause of psittacosis was a rickettsia-like organism (later placed in the…
The Spanish Flu reached the state of Washington
On Oct. 3, 1918, the Spanish Flu reached the state of Washington when Seattle newspapers reported that one…
Felix-Hubert D’Herelle discovered viruses that prey on bacteria and named them bacteriophages or bacteria eaters
In 1916, French-Canadian bacteriologist Felix-Hubert D’Herelle discovered viruses that prey on bacteria and named them bacteriophages or bacteria…
Pertussis vaccine, a suspension of inactivated Bordetella pertussis cells, was licensed
In 1915, Pertussis vaccine, a suspension of inactivated Bordetella pertussis cells, was licensed. Inactivated vaccines were prepared with…
Phages, or bacterial viruses,were discovered
In 1914, Phages, or bacterial viruses, were discovered by Frederick Twort. He researched Johne’s disease, a chronic intestinal…
Virus (vaccinia) grown in cell culture for the first time
In 1913, for the first time ever, a virus (vaccinia) was grown in cell culture, and then in…
Sarcoma virus reported by Peyton Rous in the Journal of Experimental Medicine
In 1911, Pathologist Peyton Rous reported a virus that causes cancer in chickens (Rous sarcoma virus) that opened…
John F Anderson and Joseph Goldberger first transmitted measles (rubeola) to monkeys by contact
In 1911, John F. Anderson and Joseph Goldberger first transmitted measles (rubeola) to monkeys by contact Their study…
Karl Landsteiner and Erwin Popper identified a virus as the cause of polio
In 1908, Dr. Karl Landsteiner at the University Department of Pathological Anatomy in Vienna discovered that the cause…