Timeline of hepatitis
Year/period Type of event Event
400 BC Medical development The earliest description of epidemic hepatitis , which may or may not have been due to hepatitis B virus , is credited to Greek physician Hippocrates , who describes a condition he called epidemic jaundice
741-752 Medical development Pope Zachary quarantines individuals with jaundice to prevent its spread throughout Rome , suggesting an apparent infectious nature of this clinical finding
1861-1865 Epidemic Large hepatitis epidemic is documented during the American Civil War . 52,000 cases are estimated
1870 Epidemic Large hepatitis epidemic breaks out during the Franco-Prussian War
1865 Scientific development German physician Rudolf Virchow describes a patient with symptoms of epidemic jaundice in whom the lower end of the common bile duct was blocked with a plug of mucus . This would lead to the term catarrhal jaundice , because the disease is believed to be caused by catarrh as a result of mucus obstructing the bile duct
1885 Scientific development A. Lurman first describes an epidemic of serum hepatitis among 191 German ship workers in Bremen after a smallpox vaccination campaign using human lymph . It is the earliest record of an epidemic caused by hepatitis B virus
1908 Scientific development S. McDonald publishes the hypothesis that the infectious jaundice is caused by a virus
1912 Medical development The name Hepatitis is first implemented
1914-1918 Epidemic Hepatitis epidemic breaks out during World War I
1942-1945 Epidemic Approximately 182,383 service members are hospitalized for Hepatitis C during World War II . The disease is contracted in two different ways . An epidemic of hepatitis breaks out among many service members who were vaccinated against yellow fever . The source of the infection is traced to the serum , or clear fluid in the blood , that is used in the vaccine . This form of the disease becomes known as serum hepatitis . A different form of hepatitis , acute hepatitis , is found among soldiers who have received blood transfusions
1947 Scientific development MacCallum classifies viral hepatitis into two types . Viral hepatitis B is classified as serum hepatitis
1951 Scientific development Researchers describe a form of chronic hepatitis occurring primarily in young women . Because nearly 15% of these patients have positive lupus erithematosus cell tests , this disorder is first called lupoid hepatitis . By the 1970s its autoimmune origine would be discovered , and today the condition is referred as autoimmune hepatitis
1953 Medical development Hepatitis becomes a reportable disease
1957 Scientific development Scientists find that interferon could act as an antiviral drug . The name interferon is given since it could interfere with replication or multiplication of the virus
1963 Scientific development Blood test to detect hepatitis B infection is developed
1963-1965 Scientific development The hepatitis B virus surface antigen HBsAg ( also known as Australia antigen ) is first identified
1967 Scientific development American geneticist Baruch Samuel Blumberg and colleagues , while researching genetic links to disease susceptibility , discover the hepatitis B virus . In 1976 , Dr. Blumberg would be awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for this discovery
1967 Scientific development Krugman and colleagues recognize the parenterally transmitted nature of hepatitis B , which would lead to the formulation of hygienic measures to prevent the disease
1968 Scientific development Prince , Murakami , and Okochi , through independent studies , confirm that the Australia antigen is found specifically in patients who had serum hepatitis ( hepatitis B )
1969 Medical development American physician Baruch Samuel Blumberg and colleagues develop the blood test that is used to detect the hepatitis B virus , and develop the first hepatitis B vaccine
Full timeline
WHO-UNICEF estimates of hepatitis B vaccine ( HepB-BD ) coverage in the Americas WHO region in the years 2000-2015 . [ 11 ] WHO-UNICEF estimates of hepatitis B vaccine ( HepB-BD ) coverage in countries from the African WHO region in the years 2000-2015 . [ 11 ] WHO-UNICEF estimates of hepatitis B vaccine ( HepB-BD ) coverage in countries from South-East Asia WHO region in the years 2000-2015 . [ 11 ] WHO-UNICEF estimates of hepatitis B vaccine ( HepB-BD ) coverage in countries from the European WHO region in the years 2000-2015 . [ 11 ] WHO-UNICEF estimates of hepatitis B vaccine ( HepB-BD ) coverage in countries from the East-Mediterranean WHO region in the years 2000-2015 . [ 11 ] WHO-UNICEF estimates of hepatitis B vaccine ( HepB-BD ) coverage in countries from the Western Pacific WHO region in the years 2000-2015 . [ 11 ] Incidence of Hepatitis A in the United States , in the years 1980-2010 . [ 12 ] Incidence of Hepatitis B in the United States , in the years 1980-2010 . [ 12 ] Incidence of Hepatitis C in the United States , in the years 1980-2011 . [ 12 ] Percentages of hepatitis A cases by occupation in Zhejiang Province , China . Cumulative . [ 13 ]
This is a Timeline of hepatitis, describing major events such as epidemics and medical developments, related to hepatitis A, B, C, D and E.