Who Discovered Viruses?

In latin, virus means slimy liquid or poison. Viruses were first discovered in 1892 by Dimitrii Ivanivsky. He discovered this when he was observing the how the agent of tobacco mosaic disease can pass through a porcelain filter that can retain bacteria. he then concluded that TMV is not caused a bacteria.

During the late 19th century, Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was a non-bacterial virus that damaged tobacco crops, it was also the first virus to be discovered.

In 1898, Marcus Beijerinck concluded that TMV is a pathogen. A pathogen is when a bacterium, virus or other microorganism can cause a disease.

There are 5 types of pathogens: viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and worms.