ABSTRACT
An account is given of the experiences and events which led to a search being undertaken for a causative virus in the recently described Burkitt's lymphoma and of the steps which ultimately culminated in the discovery of the new human herpesvirus which came to be known as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
Subject(s)
Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/virology , Herpesvirus 4, Human/isolation & purification , Virology/history , Animals , Epstein-Barr Virus Infections/history , Herpesvirus 4, Human/genetics , Herpesvirus 4, Human/physiology , Herpesvirus 4, Human/ultrastructure , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , WorkforceABSTRACT
The chance germinal encounter with the first lecture outside Africa on Burkitt lymphoma is described together with the hypothesis of a viral cause. Repeated virological investigations on lymphoma biopsies proved negative, leading to the idea that a latent virus might be activated if lymphoma cells could be cultured, although no human lymphoid cell had at that time ever been maintained in vitro. A chance event reminding of the need for suspension culture with mouse lymphomas led to success. The cultured cells carried a morphologically unequivocal, strangely inert, herpesvirus shown later to be immunologically, biologically and biochemically unique. How this new agent acquired its name, Epstein-Barr virus, is explained.
