History Discovery of Virus

History Discovery of Virus
In 1958, two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred at an interval of 4 months in the State Serum Institute (Copenhagen, Denmark) among the Java macaques imported from Singapore for production of polio vaccine.

The outbreaks occurred on days 51 and 62 after the delivery.

The main symptom of this disease was a generalized rash (including the soles, palms, face and tail) that evolved rapidly from petechiae through maculopapular to pustlar stage. When the scabs had fallen off, scarring at remained at the sites of the lesions.

The disease developed without a pronounced disturbance of the animal general condition and affected 20-30% of the stock.

In ensuing years, monkeypox outbreaks among monkeys in captivity were observed in the USA, the Netherlands and France.

A new stage of research in this virus and the related pathology started in 1971 after reported its ability to cause a human disease clinically indistinguishable from small pox.

The comprehensive studies initiated after the discovery of this new disease were extremely important for the smallpox eradication program.

The point is that smallpox reported to WHO from the territories where its transmission had already been extinguished. The attempts to find out the source of infection failed.

All these issues became a matter of concern because they might indicate wither a low efficiency of the current anti-smallpox methodology or the existence of natural reservoir of the smallpox agent.

Precluding the doubts the discovery marked the beginning of research into this previously unknown human disease and stimulated further study of its etiological agent.
History Discovery of Virus