Ruth Bishop

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Ruth Bishop, Tom Flewett and Al Kapikian circa 1980
Ruth Bishop, Tom Flewett and Al Kapikian circa 1980

Dr Ruth Bishop is the discoverer of rotavirus. In 1973 she examined cells from the intestines of children with gastroenteritis at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.[1] Using an electron microscope she saw viruses which she called duovirus because they were seen in the duodenum and had a double capsid. The name rotavirus was later suggested by the Irishman, Thomas Henry Flewett. Rotaviruses cause diarrhoea and vomiting in young children and are a leading cause of death in the developing countries.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Bishop RF, Davidson GP, Holmes IH, Ruck BJ (1973). "Virus particles in epithelial cells of duodenal mucosa from children with acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis". Lancet 2 (7841): 1281–3. PMID 4127639.