A short history of virology

Abstract

When W.W.C. Topley and G.S. Wilson in their famous textbook, as long ago was 1936, prophesied that "the years ahead of us will be t'he eighteen eighties over ,again", referring to the great age of bacteriological discovery, they were, like all prophets, risking their reputation. In fact they have been right perhaps even beyond their expectations for at that time both the electron microscope and tissue culture methods were still in their earliest days. Virology has progressed with gigantic strides and it has now not only shed light on previously obscure medical problems but provided the biologist and the geneticist with tools with which to pursue many fundamental studies.