The Unseen Journey

Tracing viral persistence through a century of discovery

Many medically important viruses don't simply disappear after infection. They persist or establish latency in the nervous system, blood, bone marrow, or organs—sometimes for life.

This visualization reveals how it often took decades before science recognized these hidden viral reservoirs and their connections to chronic diseases. Each glowing trajectory represents a virus's journey from discovery to understanding.

Virus Selection

Select a milestone

Hover or click on the timeline

Click on any milestone to view detailed information about viral persistence and discovery timelines.

Milestone Types

Discovery

Latency/Persistence Recognized

Reactivation/Key Paper

First Major Chronic Association

Understanding Latency vs. Persistence

Latency refers to viruses that establish a dormant state in cells with minimal replication but retain reactivation potential (e.g., herpesviruses in neurons).

Persistence describes ongoing low-level viral presence without complete clearance (e.g., HIV, hepatitis viruses). This timeline uses the most appropriate term for each virus's primary mechanism.

Evidence & Interpretation

This visualization distinguishes between established causal links (like HBV→liver cancer) and associations under study (like HSV-1→Alzheimer's).

The timeline emphasizes how scientific understanding evolves—what seems obvious now often took decades to recognize and prove.

Adding New Data

To add a virus to this timeline, append to the virusData array:

{
  "virus": "Virus Name",
  "discovery_year": 2000,
  "latency_or_persistence_recognized_year": 2005,
  "reactivation_or_key_latency_paper_year": 2010,
  "first_major_chronic_assoc_year": 2015,
  "notes": "Key findings...",
  "source_ids": ["ref1", "ref2"]
}