MY ROLE IN THE DISCOVERY AND CLASSIFICATION OF THE ENTEROVIRUSES

Abstract

The enteroviruses constitute one of the genera of the picornavirus family. The genus includes the polioviruses, the coxsackieviruses, and the echoviruses of humans, plus a number of enteroviruses of lower animals (e.g. monkeys, cattle, pigs, mice). Over 100 serotypes are recognized, of which the first to be discovered were the polioviruses. It was my good fortune to have been a scientist during the golden age of virology, when new techniques were being introduced into the field. These often led to the discovery of new viruses. This article details the isolation of the enteroviruses, their recognition as a separate genus of Picornaviridae, and my role in the process. Poliovirus, the most hazardous of the group, is almost gone from the world, but the other enteroviruses will be with us for some time. Several members of the Committee dealing with these agents—Enders, Sabin, Dalldorf, Syverton—have passed on, but the work of this Committee to which I was privileged to contribute will live long.