TIMELINE

History of the viruses within the Togaviridae viral family

First clinical

1740
description of
rubella
Friedrich
Homann made the
description, conrmed First clear report of
by de Bergen in 1752
and Orlow in 1758.
epidemic encephalitis

1831 Alphaviruses responsible for

outbreak in Massachusetts that
killed 75 horses. In 18th and
19th centuries epidemics in
horses recorded but no clear
reports.
1840 Rubella
recognized as a
distinct disease
1840
First alphavirus
to be cultured

1930 Western Equine

Encephalitis Virus
(WEEV), an alphavirus.
Norman Gregg spurs Isolated from 2 horses
in San Joaquin Valley,
recognition of congenital

1941
CA.
rubella syndrome
He proposed that the cataracts and
associated congenital cardiac New virus found
abnormalities were the consequence of
maternal infection with rubella virus associated with
during pregnancy. polyarthritis
1952 From mosquitoes
collected near Sindbis,
Egypt, many years before
Sindbis virus (SINV) was
Chikungunya linked to human disease.
rst described
CHIK-Virus was
isolated in Tanzania
1953
from the blood of
people with severe
arthritis.

Rubella virus
1962 rst isolated

Rubella outbreak in
the U.S.

12.5 million people got 1964-
1965
rubella, 11,000 pregnant
women lost their babies,
2,100 newborns died, and
20,000 babies were born First rubella
with congenital rubella vaccine
1969
syndrome
licensed in the
U.S.
5 years after the last
Last cases of VEE outbreak, no serious
virus in U.S. outbreak since.

1971
In Texas, an outbreak of
Venezuelan equine
encephalitis in Texas Barmah Forest
aected humans, horses,
and Zebras in zoos.
virus linked to
human disease

1986
Alphavirus
transmitted via
mosquito shown to
cause infections in
humans in New South
Indigeneous Wales, Australia
Circulation of
Rubella in U.S.
declared
2005 Major
eliminated chikunguyna
epidemics
Epidemic of the virus

2006
in India with over 1.5
million cases
First Region free of reported, and another
Rubella on the island of La
Runion and the
World Health surrounding islands in
Organization & the Pan the Indian Ocean.
American Health
Organization declared
and certied Colombia
free of rubella. 1st Latin
2014
American country to
eliminate the disease
within its borders. The
Americas became the
rst WHO region in the
world to ocially
eradicate the disease.