The Etiology of Common Colds: The Probable Role of a Filtrable Virus as the Causative Factor: With Experiments on the Cultivation of a Minute Micro-Organism from the Nasal Secretion Filtrates

Foster, George B.

doi:10.1093/infdis/21.5.451

Cited by 27 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The agent of bovine pleuro-pneumonia, for example, was cultivated early on (it is now known to be a mycoplasma). In 1917, George B Foster Jr claimed that a filter-passing agent caused the common cold, even though he simultaneously cultivated 'minute coccoid bodies' and had to admit that he could not distinguish between these bodies and an 'ultramicroscopic' (undetected) virus as the true cause [28]. On the eve of the 1918 influenza pandemic, distinct concepts of viruses and bacteria as separate and fundamentally different infectious entities were not yet mature.…”

Section: Interpandemic Advances In Virology (1892-1918)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovery and Characterization of the 1918 Pandemic Influenza Virus in Historical Context

2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The 2005 completion of the entire genome sequence of the 1918 H1N1 pandemic influenza virus represents both a beginning and an end. Investigators have already begun to study the virus in vitro and in vivo to better understand its properties, pathogenicity, transmissibility and elicitation of host responses. Although this is an exciting new beginning, characterization of the 1918 virus also represents the culmination of over a century of scientific research aiming to understand the causes of pandemic influenza. In this brief review we attempt to place in historical context the identification and sequencing of the 1918 virus, including the alleged discovery of a bacterial cause of influenza during the 1889–1893 pandemic, the controversial detection of ‘filter-passing agents’ during the 1918–1919 pandemic, and subsequent breakthroughs in the 1930s that led to isolation of human and swine influenza viruses, greatly influencing the development of modern virology.

show abstract

Section: Interpandemic Advances In Virology (1892-1918)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovery and Characterization of the 1918 Pandemic Influenza Virus in Historical Context

2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 in the American Expeditionary Forces in France and England

MacNeal¹

1919

Arch Intern Med

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Transmission of the Common Cold to Volunteers Under Controlled Conditions

Jackson¹

1958

AMA Arch Intern Med

359

263

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The common cold is one of the most fre¬ quent and universal infections of man.Nevertheless, little is known regarding its specific etiology, and the diagnosis must be a clinical one. Until the infectious agent can be propagated, characterized by microbiologic and pathologic methods and consist¬ ently transmitted to experimental animals or in tissue cultures, transmission to humans appears to be the best method for study.In this manner, information can be obtained about the nature of the infection, factors that influence the susceptibility or resistance of the human host, and conditions that favor spread of the illness.During the past five years we have made observations upon more than 1000 volun¬ teers who were challenged with infectious nasal secretions obtained from persons with a common cold or with a blank solution used as a control. The clinical findings were re-Dr. Spiesman died Sept. 11, 1954. corded daily. Examination of the nose and throat was of no value in detecting the presence of a cold, and it was necessary to develop an objective and consistent method of scoring symptoms. Upon this basis, cri¬ teria were developed for the diagnosis of a cold following challenge with an infectious secretion which permitted the uniform eval¬ uation of serial experiments. The present report describes the clinical features of the common cold among volunteers and the criteria that were used to diagnose an ex¬ perimental cold. MethodsNasal secretions were obtained from a donor with a typical common cold and filtered through a bactériologie porcelain filter. The specimen was diluted 1:10 with an isotonic salt solution buffered to pH 7.4 to which 0.5% yeast extract or 5% human Type O hemoglobin was added as a stabilizing protein. Multiple aliquote were stored in screw cap vials at -70 C in a mechanical re¬ frigerator. Samples of the nasal secretion were routinely inoculated into embryonated hen eggs by both the allantoic and the amniotic routes, for the identification of influenza, mumps, and psittacosis viruses. Suckling mice were given intraperitoneal injections, and adult mice, both intraperitoneal and intracranial, for the identification of Coxsackie, herpes, and encephalitis agents. Human epithelial cells, strain HeLa, and monkey-kidney cells in tissue cultures were used to identify adenovirus and poliomyelitis viruses. Suckling hamsters were given inoculations of some of the secretions. Serial passages, animal fatality, hemagglutination, cytotoxicity, histocytology, and sero¬ logie methods were used to identify, insofar as possible, strains of known viruses. Secretions that were found to be free of disease-producing agents were tested for infectivity in from 6 to 12 volunteers.

show abstract

The Etiology of Common Colds: The Probable Role of a Filtrable Virus as the Causative Factor: With Experiments on the Cultivation of a Minute Micro-Organism from the Nasal Secretion Filtrates

Cited by 27 publications

References 0 publications

Discovery and Characterization of the 1918 Pandemic Influenza Virus in Historical Context

Discovery and Characterization of the 1918 Pandemic Influenza Virus in Historical Context

The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 in the American Expeditionary Forces in France and England

Transmission of the Common Cold to Volunteers Under Controlled Conditions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About