A Fog-Delayed Flight and the Story of Sir Michael Anthony Epstein (1921-2024) and Yvonne Margaret Barr (1932-2016).

Abstract

The Epstein-Barr virus, was discovered in 1964, and was the first identified human oncogenic virus that can persist asymptomatically for life. It is associated with a broad spectrum of diseases in the pediatric population, including benign pathologies such as infectious mononucleosis or severe ones such as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, among others.Professor Sir Anthony Epstein (1921-2024), an English pathologist and virologist, was its co-discoverer with the Irish virologist Yvonne Barr (1932-2016). We will review the history, and the particularities of the serendipitous character that ended with the virus identification, together with the biography of both scientists who gave rise to this famous eponym, which endures to this day.