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1946

Isolating strains of the mumps virus leads to vaccine development

Dr William Beveridge using hens' eggs to grow and study the mumps virus

Dr William Beveridge and Miss Patricia Lind begin studies into the mumps virus, commencing trials of a potential vaccine.

Returning to the egg

Mumps research was boosted the previous year by a discovery in the US that the mumps virus could be grown in chicken eggs, much like the infleunza virus. Beveridge and Lind refine the technique and isolate five strains of the virus for further study. Their work leads to the development of vaccine candidates that are trialled in humans.

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Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet begins to refine the method of growing viruses in hens’ eggs.
In countless laboratories around the world today, scientists are working with chicken eggs to research flu viruses using a technique pioneered by Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet almost 70 years ago.