Ruth Bishop

rotavirus discoverer

#ShePersisted #WednesdayGirlDay #RuthBishop #vaccineheroes #vaccineswork
#FloreyMedal #vaccinesdevelopmenthero #rotavirus

Dr. Ruth Bishop (1933- )

Rotavirus is a disease that every parent with children is afraid to hear but is familiar with. In the past,
children were often hospitalized due to severe diarrhea, and even severe cases even died.
It was not until 1973 that Australian medical researcher Ruth Bishop and her team
discovered the main virus causing this diarrhea under an electron microscope in 1973.
Because the shape of the virus was wheel-shaped, it was named “rotavirus”.

Rotavirus is the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis in young children.
Today, according to statistics, more than 90% of infants and young children under the age of 5
have been infected with rotavirus at least once.
Ruth Bishop’s major discovery has allowed the medical community to develop a vaccine against this virus,
and we have a “rotavirus vaccine”. After the vaccination,
the cases of rotavirus have also been greatly reduced,
which is a great boon for modern children’s medical care.

Although the virus was discovered and assisted in the development of a vaccine as early as 1973,
Dr Ruth Bishop waited 30 years before finally being awarded the CSL Florey Medal in 2003,
the first ever for this award. Women winners! Thanks to Dr. Ruth Bishop’s great discovery,
millions of children around the world have been spared rotavirus.

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“Rotavirus will always be around,” says Ruth, “but we can stop it from being a killer.”

Dr. Ruth Bishop: “The rotavirus is still there, but we can stop it from continuing to take new life.”

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – -The above information is organized by Maggie Chen