key: cord-0008322-9jmya3jx
authors: Hsiung, G.D.
title: A history of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology
date: 2000-04-30
journal: J Clin Virol
DOI: 10.1016/s1386-6532(00)00063-9
sha: 53f2096015f41f475e7c2d542a4e2394ec4a98f5
doc_id: 8322
cord_uid: 9jmya3jx

[Figure: see text]

Introduction www.elsevier.com/locate/jcv In this booklet we have attempted to meet the need for readily accessible information about the development of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology (PASCV). In order to provide a brief review of the two groups, i.e. the Pan American Group for Rapid Viral Diagnosis (PA-GRVD) and the Clinical Virology Symposium (CVS) joining together, the readers are referred to the following three chapters. We hope this booklet will provide useful information for those interested in Clinical Virology, including physicians, medical students, interns, and residents as well as laboratory and research investigators.

The PAGRVD had been established for seven years when Steven Specter, in the Fall of 1984, extended an invitation to the PAGRVD to cosponsor the CVS annual meeting in Clearwater, Florida. Stanley Plotkin, the president of the PA-GRVD, suggested to have the two groups join together for their annual meetings in Clearwater, Florida. (see Stanley Plotkin memorandum to officers and council members of PAGRVD on April 25, 1986) . Support for the concept was indicated by John Sever's letter to Stanley Plotkin (dated April 29, 1986 ). On May 7, 1986, a letter from Steven Specter and Gerald Lancz was sent to Stanley Plotkin agreeing with the above suggestions. Joseph Waner was the newsletter editor and ensured that the news regarding PAGRVD and the CVS would have joint annual meetings in Florida for the coming years, (Joseph Waner's letter to Steven Specter on May 28, 1987).

The first CVS was held in Clearwater, Florida April 22-24, 1985 . Edith Hsiung was more than enthusiastic to support the idea to have a Clinical Virology Meeting in the Eastern USA to balance the annual meeting of Medical Virology in California, organized by Luis de la Maza and Elena Patterson of the University of California at Irvine. For a long time, many investigators involved in the clinical virology field were looking for a place to call 'home' since the field was made up of scientists from a wide range of disciplines.

During the early CVS meetings some of the delegates commented that for the first time they felt that Clinical Virologists were not lost in the crowd as in other big meetings including annual meetings of the ASM (American Society for Microbiology) or ICAAC, (Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy), Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), or the American Pediatrics Society (APS). Thus, a permanent home for Clinical Virologists was established since 1987.

The official name of 'The Pan American Society for Clinical Virology' was not used until 1995 when the annual meeting approved the change. In order to illustrate the relationship between clinical and diagnostic virology (Fig. 1) , 'Clinical Virology' was conceived as the bridge between the clinicians and the laboratory investigators. The meeting was an opportunity to get together, understand each other and complement each other in order to have better individual patient care and population management. Attendance at the CVS has increased. Each year an excellent program is developed in aspects of clinical, diagnosis and treatment providing informative, state of the art information about clinical virology that fully meets the needs of the attendants. As the PASCV has grown, it forms a network through which knowledge is exchanged, new ideas are generated and collaborations established through these annual meetings.

In addition, the journal of 'Clinical and Diagnostic Virology' (Elsevier) was initiated in 1993. Its name was changed to the 'Journal of Clinical Virology' in 1998 and is now the official journal of the PASCV.

tion of them to rapid viral diagnosis. 2. Encouragement of the development of new techniques by holding scientific meetings and symposia on the subject at 6 monthly intervals. 3. Promotion of quality control reagents and their utilization in rapid diagnostic virology. 4. Provision of a means of communication and dissemination of relevant information on rapid viral diagnosis. 5. Promotion of training programs in techniques for rapid diagnosis.

6. Coordination of activities with other organizations concerned with rapid viral diagnosis. 7. Provision of a potential forum for collaborative research projects in rapid viral diagnosis.

2.1.1. The ultimate membership of this group remains to be determined As a provisional 'council' those participating are presently considered as representatives. A working group of 20 -25 is small enough to promote efficiency in operation. It may be helpful to request assistance in each of the provisional representatives by asking for other individuals in (1) geographic proximity to the member, and (2) those working in related areas of investigation. In addition, the CDC has a listing of diagnostic laboratories in the USA.

Access to information generated by this group is one of the goals of the group and representatives are responsible for dissemination of the information in their geographic area. A News Letter has been proposed as a means of informing the group. It would include minutes of meetings, techniques, perhaps the abstracts of work to be published and bibliographies of members to teach others the areas of expertise of the constituents. Also, meetings and symposia will be announced and abstracts reproduced. A minimal charge of 5.00 -$10.00 to defray costs may be necessary. Dr. Forrester suggested that the group could possibly obtain help with printing from the CDC.

The commercial organizations can communicate through the Executive or the secretary with the organization. This should allow optimal mutual participation in the development and standardization of reagents for use. A note of thanks was given to Flow, Microbiological Associates and Gibco Laboratories for funds to support Dr. Gardner's travel and an initial $500.00 in the treasury of the Provisional Group. Dr. Harvey Friedman had been acting treasurer in Philadelphia and will leave the account there until the Executive makes a decision on moving it.

Precedent for an organization of this type exists in the EGRLVD. Professor Phillip Gardner participated in the organizational meeting of the North American group giving his invaluable assistance gained from their working group. The Eu-ropean group is founded on country representation with two persons per country participating at meetings. The group functions as a working party and accepts responsibility for keeping the others in their country informed. The European group meets at 6 monthly intervals for a 2 day period of time. The meetings consist of formal business sessions but also a scientific symposium with contributions from members and invited guests. The organization is now coordinating symposia with other groups. Members attend regularly. Symposia are successful. Collaboration has allowed successful standardization of reagents and their acceptance by industry. Technical training has been exchanged between members and possibilities for collaboration with WHO are being explored.

Considerable discussion of the purpose of the group demonstrated a mutual interest in clinical diagnostic virology and its attendant problems of financial support, certification of technicians, education of physicians, and the need for a strong group of proponents. For initial organization, it was agreed to accept the plan of narrowing the approach to rapid viral diagnosis as a defined need and subsequently a way to gain credibility and to earn support. The applicability of the answers will produce a marketable product. No area of concern is to be excluded from the future focus by the group.

2.1.2. Specific areas of potential focus by the group were listed as:

1. Fluorescence antibody for antigen detection 2. Peroxidase 3. Electronmicroscopy (Immuno-EM) 4. Antigens, specific IgM 5. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) 6. Immune adherence 7. (Gas chromatography) 8. Countercurrent immunoelectrophoresis (CIE)

The European group has had experience collaborating to ensure quality control of reagents.

Members have produced individual antisera, tested for sensitivity and specificity by each of two laboratories. Cooperation with industry then allows production of a defined quality controlled product which will be in demand.

Individual investigators have worked with indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) to utilize fewer conjugates. On the other hand, industry can produce direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) reagents consisting of a single conjugated antiserum and sell it as the one reagent. Production of indirect reagents has necessitated a 'kit'. The antiserum plus anti-antiserum conjugates standardized as a unit. Apparently, the FDA now requires that reagents used as human diagnostic reagents meet the following requirements: 1. The history of manufacture 2. The efficacy (trials with tissue culture cells, trials with clinical materials, involving a variety of human cells and viruses 3. Marketing 4. Acceptable levels of toxicity A subcommittee meeting of the FDA will occur January 24 and 25th 1977 discussing standards of biological reagents. It was suggested that this group needs a representative from our provisional group. The Division of the FDA is the Bureau of Medical Devices and Diagnostic Reagents.

In the past, industry has collaborated with the CDC but the new regulations mean that the clinical applicability will require INDs and interested investigators. In order to keep rapid viral diagnosis respectable, the reagents have to be quality controlled. At this point, Dr. Plotkin proposed a comparative study of IFA and DFA by the Provisional Group. This raises the question of what reagents are available.

Microbiological associates have: Herpes simplex-1 (HSV-1); HSV-2; HSV 1&2; Mumps, CMV; parainfluenza 1; adenovirus group; LCM and these will be supplied for investigational purposes. Flow has HSV-1, HSV-2, Influenza A and Influenza B, parainfluenza 1, 2, 3, adenovirus (? Group), CMV, mumps (?), measles (?), RSV (in near future). Wellcome Research Labs has RSV bovine antiserum (indirect), influenza A bovine antiserum (indirect), herpes (? 1 2 ) rabbit antiserum.

Dr. Lennette expressed the need to avail ourselves of these existing reagents. Thus, standardization of them in comparison to those volunteered by Dr. Gardner from the European group should assume priority. The NIH reference reagents materials are not to be excluded but considerable testing is necessary. There is in existence an International Standardization group which has a liaison with the European group.

Training of responsible persons is as essential as quality control of reagents. The CDC has developed several courses which are available to hospital technicians, university lab technicians and the state laboratories.

Several individuals of the group volunteered their materials and mentioned them as illustrations of possible collaboration. Dr. C. Brandt has rotavirus EM grids (positive and negative) available. Dr. K. McIntosh has respiratory syncytial virus positive and negative slides.

It was felt that collaborative teaching with the ASM, CDC and in individual laboratories should be a serious goal of the group.

The ASM meeting in New Orleans in May, 1977 is to be the next projected meeting of the Executive. A symposium on rapid viral diagnosis is scheduled to take place at the meeting. This was organized prior to the meeting of this provisional group and is an independent effort. The ICAAC meeting in October in New York may be the logical place for the next meeting of the Provisional Rapid Viral Diagnostic Group.

2.3.1. The Executi6e has been charged with the following responsibilities:

1. To form a written conceptualization of membership which will be considered by the entire group. 2. To ascertain either the benefits or the need to 'incorporate' the group. 3. To become informed with regard to the developing FDA policies for reagents in order to contribute in their formation and be informed of the requirements.

4. To investigate the possibility of forming a subgroup of the ASM. Potential advantages would include the use of existing publication to announce meetings, circularize members, etc. 5. To informally publish the work by the group members. 6. To consider a specific project for the group which may be a trial to establish the sensitivity and specificity of existing reagents or to compare direct versus indirect immunofluorescence. The second meeting of the Provisional Rapid Viral Diagnosis Group (PRVDG) was held in New York City as part of the joint IDSA-ICAAC meeting on October 12, 1977. Additional interested persons were invited to participate in the group merely by indicating their interest and signing a list providing their names and addresses. Those attending the meeting agreed to support the concept of $10.00 dues to assist with mailing and Xerox costs, etc.

One of the functions of the group was to help exchange information. The suggestion was made that preprints could be distributed to interested members. Dr. George Ray suggested that circulation of 'newsletters' from individual institutions could be distributed to members of PRVDG. Dr. George Galasso from NIH stated that Newsletters were produced at the NIH to provide updated collation of reference materials and that perhaps a newsletter could be started which related to viral diagnosis or material included in an existing newsletter.

Dr. Rasmussen, President of ASM and Dr. E.H. Lennette, President-elect, supported the group. Dr. Rasmussen stated that support of a workshop is possible through the ASM and it should be possible to have a clinical Virology Section at the ASM meeting. This was explored for the Spring of 1978.

Tentative plans for a Laboratory Course at Aspen, Colorado to be held August 14 -18, 1978, were made. The course would teach methods in fluorescence and enzyme linked assays.

An important function of this group was to help standardize reagents for rapid viral diagnosis. Dr. Goldfield spoke to the need for develop-ment of reagents and wanted this to be a working group. This may mean development of reagents in individual labs or stimulation of production by the commercial groups. Dr. David Lennette expressed concern over failure of individual investigators to use standard conditions and Dr. G.D. Hsiung expressed concern over 'lot' variation in presently available materials.

On January 12 and 13 of 1978 Robert Edelman at the NIH convened a Workshop on New and Useful Methods in Viral Diagnosis (McIntosh et al., 1978) . Many of the members of the North American Group for Rapid Viral Diagnosis attended to discuss traditional and Newer Techniques for the Laboratory Diagnosis of viral gastroenteritis, congenital infections, VZV, enteroviruses, respiratory viruses and herpes viruses. The future directions at that Workshop were RIA for antigens, nucleic acid hybridization and cellular immunological analyses.

On April 27, 1978 members of the executive including Ken McIntosh, Max Chernesky, Stan Plotkin, and Catherine Wilfert met with Harvey Friedman in New York City. The Executive met to consider several points relevant to the rapid viral diagnosis group. Consideration was given briefly to the name of the organization and it was decided that a change in name to the Pan American Group for Rapid Viral Diagnosis (PAGRVD) would be more appropriate in view of the requests for membership from persons in Mexico, Central and South America.

Dr. Friedman volunteered to assemble a newsletter to be distributed to the membership of the organization. The newsletter would contain preprints of papers of the group, methods which might be helpful, and notification of planned meetings or workshops. It was also suggested that since many members compiled a listing of viral isolates and serological conversions that these might be forwarded directly to the Center for Disease Control to enhance reporting. Similarly, these individual reports could be made available to any member of the rapid diagnostic group if the interested party contacted the author of these listings.

The International Virology Congress in August of 1978 at the Hague was discussed briefly and Dr. McIntosh was asked to contact Dr. Gardner concerning a mutually agreeable time for a joint meeting by members of the European and Pan American groups. Contact was to be made with Dr. John Nelson, the program organizer of the ICAAC meetings for 1978 to see if papers could be grouped according to a category such as Clinical Virology to include rapid viral diagnosis.

Dr. Wilfert discussed her recent visit with the members of the EGRLVD as they conducted a workshop in electron microscopy and immunofluorescence. The meeting was in Oslo, April 14 -18, 1978 . In August of 1978 the first of three Aspen workshops was convened and taught 20 students the technologies of immunofluorescence and enzyme immunoassay.

In November of 1978, Steven Specter, David Lennette and Kenneth Thompson convened a Symposium on Diagnosis of Viral Infections: The Role of the Clinical Laboratory in Philadelphia. Many of the PAGRVD members were in attendance and the proceedings were published by University Park Press in 1979 (Lennette et al., 1979) .

In December of 1978 the World Health Organization (WHO) convened an informal consultation on Rapid Viral Diagnosis at the CIBA Foundation in London, England. The PAGRVD was represented by Max Chernesky and in 1979 the WHO published a Manual for Rapid Laboratory Viral Diagnosis (Almeida et al., 1979) . Contributions were from both RVD groups and included the following: J. Almeida; P. Atanasiu; D. Bradley; P. Gardner; J. Maynard; A. Schuurs; A. Voller and R. Yolken. This booklet covered electron microscopy, IF for respiratory viruses and rabies, ELISA and IgM RIA for HAV.

A logo contest 1 was held in 1979 and the current logo as a 'p' or 'd' was chosen from a submission made by Marta Zapata and the late Américo Márquez from Có rdoba, Argentina.

In the spring of 1980 Dr. G.D. Hsiung convened an ASM Symposium in Miami entitled 'Clinical Virology Experiences with New and Standard Methods for Isolation and Characteri-zation of Viruses'. Several members of PAGRVD participated. The second Aspen Workshop on IFA and EIA techniques was held in August of that year.

In the autumn of 1980 a WHO Scientific Group on Rapid Laboratory Techniques for the Diagnosis of Viral Infection met in Geneva. Novel techniques for detection of viral antigens, IgM responses and microscopy were discussed and published as a WHO Technical Report number 661 (Chernesky et al., 1981) . Also in 1980, the second Workshop on New and Useful Techniques in Rapid Viral Diagnosis sponsored jointly by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the PAGRVD was held at NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. The program consisted of invited speakers and submitted abstracts. This meeting focused on problems in creating sold phase immunoassays, the role of monoclonal antibodies and serological diagnosis. A summary was published in JID (McIntosh et al., 1980) . During the early 1980s workshops were held in Canada, United States, Argentina, Chile, Columbia, Brazil and Guatemala. These were often sponsored by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), universities, industry and PAGRVD.

The third Aspen workshop was held in August of 1982 and covered respiratory IFA, IgM testing and Chlamydia diagnosis. In the same year Dr. Hsiung convinced ASM to hold another symposium on 'Diagnosis with Emphasis on Respiratory Viruses and Chlamydia trachomatis'.

In September of 1983, the third Workshop on New and Useful Methods in Rapid Viral Diagnosis was held at NIH. This meeting was well attended and focused on nucleic acid hybridization, isotype specific serological tests, new techniques for detecting immunological reactions and mono-clonal antibodies. A summary was published in JID in 1984 (Richman et al., 1984) . Also during 1983 Elsevier Publishing offered subscriptions to 'Journal of Virological Methods' to PAGRVD members at a reduced rate.

The noteworthy accomplishments during 1984 were as follows: (1) The publication of the PA-GRVD bylaws and incorporation of the group in the state of Massachusetts; (2) A 2 week workshop cosponsored by PAHO and convened by Dr. Edmundo Kraiselburd at the University of Puerto Rico, which covered all Methods of Diagnostic Virology and their application to Viral Infections;

(3) Participation in the annual International Symposium of Medical Virology in Anaheim California convened by Drs. Luis de la Maza and Elena Peterson and the conduct of the annual PA-GRVD meeting in California.

For at least 6 years NIAID funded RFP contracts for 'Application of Biophysical, Biochemical, Immunologic, and Molecular Virologic Techniques to Rapid Viral Diagnosis'. These were held by four well known investigators who contributed to the Group: John Herrmann; Ken McIntosh; Bob Yolken and Doug Richman.

The Wellcome PAGRVD Award was originated in 1985 and the first recipient was Phillip Gardner.

During 1986 Stan Plotkin convened a Molecular and EIA workshop in Plattsberg NY taught by Drs. Bob Yolken and Pat Cleveland.

The original president of the Group Ken McIntosh was succeeded by Stan Plotkin, Peter Middleton, Max Chernesky, George Ray, John Sever, Steven Specter, Tom Smith and Joe Waner. Kathy Wilfert was secretary and Max Chernesky was treasurer for the first 11 years. Eventually the position was combined and Jim Mahony took on that roll and was recently replaced by Marie Landry. Harvey Friedman was editor of the newsletter for the first seven years and was replaced by Joe Waner, who gave way to Sheryl Johnston.

By 1986 many PAGRVD members were regularly attending the Clinical Virology Symposium (CVS) organized by Steve Specter and Gerry Lancz in Clearwater, Florida. This became a very successful arrangement and members of the Group have contributed substantially to the diverse program.

The first formal annual meeting associated with CVS took place in 1987. That same year PA-GRVD also convened an HIV course in Puerto Rico and a 2 week workshop in Hamilton Canada, on the 'Diagnosis of HIV and Opportunistic Infections'. Both courses were oversubscribed and profitable. In August of 1987 the first meeting of the three continental rapid diagnosis groups took place during the International Virology Congress in Edmonton, Canada and subsequent meetings have taken place internationally during the IVC. (1985 -1999) Steven Specter, Ph.D www.elsevier.com/locate/jcv

The concept for a clinical virology symposium in Florida was first conceived by John L. Sever, M.D., Ph.D., who at the time was at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Sever had suggested in early 1984 to Steven Specter, Ph.D., that he consider organizing a symposium similar to the Medical Virology Symposium organized by Dr. Luis de la Maza and colleagues, that was held in California. Dr. Sever indicated that there was a need for such a meeting in the East since the Medical Virology meeting was mostly individuals from the Western USA. Dr. Sever had participated in three previous meetings in clinical virology that Dr. Specter had helped to organize and indicated that he would be a good person to begin such a meeting. After some additional coaxing from Dr. Sever and a conversation with Dr. de la Maza, Dr. Specter decided to pursue organization of the meeting. In the fall of 1984 Dr. Specter attended the ICAAC meeting and while there, attended the annual meeting of the Pan American Group for Rapid Viral Diagnosis (PAGRVD). At that session Dr. Specter invited the society to co-sponsor the meeting and to honor their Wellcome Diagnostics award recipient Edwin Lennette, M.D., Ph.D. at the symposium banquet. The invitation was accepted by Stanley Plotkin, the President of the PAGRVD, on a trial basis.

The Annual Clinical Virology Symposium series was initiated in 1985 as part of an Interna-tional Symposium in the Biomedical Sciences series that was hosted as a Continuing Medical Education program by the University of South Florida College of Medicine and was co-sponsored by the PAGRVD. This first symposium entitled 'Clinical Virology' was held on April 22-24, 1985. The symposium adopted its current title, 'Annual Clinical Virology Symposium (CVS)' in its second year (when it became clear it would last beyond 1 year). The symposium was held at the Holiday Inn-Surfside, Clearwater Beach. Clearwater Beach has been the site for the symposium each year and the Holiday Inn site has hosted the meeting each year with the exception of 1989, when it was held at the Clearwater Beach Hilton. In 1996 the Holiday Inn became the DoubleTree Resort Surfside and in 1998 the hotel changed affiliation to become the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort.

The first symposium was co-chaired by Steven Specter, Ph.D. and Andor Szentivanyi, M.D., the Dean of the College of Medicine. Gerald Lancz, Ph.D. joined Dr. Specter as the co-chairman of the symposium in 1986 and remained co-chair until 1993 when he retired. Drs. G.D. 'Edith' Hsiung, Stanley Plotkin, C. George Ray, and John L. Sever became members of the organizing committee in 1986. Drs. Hsiung, Ray, and Sever have continued in this capacity throughout the 14 years of the meeting. In subsequent years the other organizing committee members have included Drs. Thomas Smith, Joseph Waner, Marie Landry, Max Chernesky, James Mahony, and the current council members of the PAGRVD/ PASCV. After chairing the meeting alone in 1994, Dr. Specter invited Richard Hodinka, Ph.D., Director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, and Stephen Young, Ph.D., Director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM to co-chair the meeting. Dan Wiedbrauk, Ph.D., Director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI joined the group of co-chairmen of the CVS in 1998.

The basic format for the series was established with the first CVS, in that one plenary session was devoted to Rapid Diagnosis, another session was Clinical Aspects of Viral Infections, and the third was Prevention of and Therapy for Virus Infections. There were six presentations in the first session and five in each of the next two sessions. This basic format covering these three areas of clinical virology has been perpetuated for the entire length of the series; although, the number of presentations per session has decreased so that from 1995 and later there have been four per session. This has allowed more in-depth presentations and discussions to be held. Each presentation also has been accompanied by a printed synopsis that has been distributed in a printed program along with submitted abstracts.

There has been an evolution of the symposium format over the intervening years; some major developments are detailed below. A one-half day workshop was added in 1987 on the Sunday afternoon prior to the full meeting, a Tuesday afternoon session for oral presentations of submitted abstracts was added as well as a second evening poster session. The Clinical Aspects session was changed to day 1 and the Diagnostic session was switched to day 2 so that the second day would be all Diagnostic Virology. In 1990 the Sunday Workshop was our first on PCR and was held for a full day; it returned to the one-half day format the next year but was discontinued in 1992. In 1991 the oral presentation of abstracts was replaced by a panel discussion, which was very well received and has continued. Panel Discussions were expanded in 1992 and two panel discussions replaced the Workshop that had been held on Sunday afternoon. In 1994, the 10 th CVS, we replaced one of the panel discussions with a series of clinical case presentations. These were highly praised and have been included as part of the symposium on an annual basis. In 1997 we lost a dear friend and active participant in the case presentations, Phil Hanff. Beginning in 1998 the presentations were recognized as the Phil Hanff Memorial case presentations.

The scientific program for the meeting, while maintaining its basic format, has been diverse and inclusive of virtually every important area of clinical virology. The programs for 14 years (see listing enclosed) have included more than 200 presentations including didactic lectures and panel discussions. The presentations were well received by all.

A feature that has helped facilitate the meeting each year is the characteristic yellow and green brochure that has been mailed to potential participants each January prior to the meeting, containing program and registration information. This was supplemented in 1998 by on-line registration via the PASCV web site (www.virology.org). The symposium introduced its first logo in 1987 at the third CVS. This was designed and introduced by Edith Hsiung during a talk at the second CVS and adopted the following year (Fig. 1) . The design was significantly modified to represent a viral particle in 1989 for the fifth CVS ( Fig. 2) and was again slightly modified in 1997 ( Fig. 3) to reflect the growing impact of molecular biology on clinical virology. The theme of the logo has been the concept of connection between clinical and diagnostic virology.

Another feature that has been developed to help facilitate the meeting include the utilization of a travel agency to help participants. Additionally, 1991 saw the addition of the CVS 'T-shirt', which has become an annual tradition. Since 1994 each of the presentations has been audiotaped and made available to participants and others interested in the program.

In addition to the outstanding scientific presentations and posters the symposium has provided a forum for interaction among clinical virologists throughout the world. Attendance has included about 10% participation from individuals outside the USA This has not been limited to Pan American countries but has included attendees from all seven continents. The largest non-USA contingent each year is from Canada. There has been participation from 44 states and Washington, DC. In the USA, eight Canadian provinces, 16 additional Pan American countries, 13 European nations, four Middle East nations, three Asian countries, Australia, and New Zealand. In all, 40 nations have been represented at the CVS over the 14 years. The CVS has been a site for initiation of both clinical trials and research collaborations, as well as a forum for interchange of information with the FDA and other regulatory agencies.

There were 140 in attendance at the first meeting and 18 poster abstracts that were presented in one evening session. In the second year the number of attendees dropped to about 100 and there were only seven poster abstracts presented. After struggling in the second year the symposium attained stability with the third CVS, mainly due to the institution of some new ideas, mostly generated by Jerry Lancz. The number of submitted abstracts returned to 18 and attendance was : 200. Attendance and submitted abstracts have increased annually since the 3 rd CVS so that in 1998 at the 14 th CVS the attendance was 521 and 111 posters were presented.

Commercial exhibits have been part of the meeting since its inception and commercial support has grown to the point where all available exhibit space has been filled each year since 1996. The first CVS included four commercial exhibits, the exhibits increased to seven in the second year and the number of exhibits grew to 15 in 1987; from 1996 to 1998 there have been 38 exhibits. Bion Enterprises and Virion are the two longest continuous exhibitors, having exhibited annually since 1986 (second CVS).

In 1989 the symposium obtained its first commercial sponsorship of 'Lectureships' and these have provided funding to allow both nationally and internationally renowned speakers to participate. In 1993 sponsorship of the Diagnostic Virology award for the PAGRVD was transferred to Murex, and Bion Enterprises began sponsorship of a second PAGRVD award, this one in Clinical Virology. In addition, in 1993 the PAGRVD began sponsoring four travel awards to the meeting for outstanding abstracts submitted by students, fellow, or technologists. In 1996 the PAGRVD awards were expanded to include the duPont Young Investigator award, which was given to Rick Hodinka; the award was subsequently dropped thereafter by duPont. In 1997 the PA-GRVD changed its name to the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology (PASCV) to reflect the broader scope of its interests, similar to the symposium. At the 13 th CVS Becton Dickinson replaced Murex as the sponsor of the Diagnostic Virology award and a fifth Travel award was added in memory of Mario Escobar, a good friend, colleague, and speaker at the first CVS.

The social program has featured an opening evening mixer, a Monday night banquet where the PAGRVD/PASCV awards are presented, and in the early years a dinner cruise on the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday evenings. In 1998 a new tradition was begun the Saturday night between the Workshop and the CVS. A softball game and barbecue was held at a near by park. There were 85 in attendance and this was a most enjoyable experience, that suggests this will be an annual occurrence.

In 1994 the PAGRVD decided to sponsor a Diagnostic Molecular Virology Workshop on the two days prior to the CVS at the same location. This practice has been maintained for the past 5 years. Richard Hodinka, Dan Wiedbrauk, and Curt Gleaves have organized the sessions. Attendance at these workshops has grown from approximately 50 the fisrt year to about 130 in 1998. Registration for the Workshop has been available on-line via the PASCV website 2 since 1997.

Joseph L. Waner, PhD www.elsevier.com/locate/jcv

In 1977, it was clear to those in the field that viral infections could be diagnosed sufficiently fast to affect patient care. Improved reagents were being made and used by the comprehensive diagnostic laboratories, and commercial companies were beginning to put resources into making products available to all laboratories. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health was beginning to consider rapid viral diagnosis as a potential discipline worthy of support. In that atmosphere, The Pan American Group for Rapid Viral Diagnosis (PAGRVD) was founded in 1977 by a small group of forward-thinking virologists with clinical and basic science interests. The salient mission of the Group was to promote the development and application of techniques that would make the diagnosis of viral infections rapid. The nature of viral diagnosis at the time was such that the Group was small in number and thereby able to communicate experiences and to exchange reagents more readily. PAGRVD was not only a vehicle that focused technology but the Group also provided an educational resource to a skeptical clinical community. This was accomplished through a program of workshops and symposia and NIH-funded contracts that went to members of the Group. An important event in the evolution of the PAGRVD occurred in 1987 when the annual general meeting of the PAGRVD began convening in conjunction with the Clinical Virology Symposium held in Clearwater Beach, Florida each year. This occasion is described in an accompanying article.

The relationship with the Symposium was and continues to be eminently successful. New members came into the Group and non-member attendees were exposed to the tenets of the PAGRVD. However, within a few years changes in the culture of the PAGRVD were beginning to be evident. Retrospectively, it seems that the success of the PAGRVD was a major factor in influencing the changes. By the early 1990s, rapid viral diagnosis was a reality and new technologies were being adapted to achieve ever more rapid and sensitive detection of viruses. There were good commercial sources of reagents and diagnostic kits, and the emerging biotech industry had become an important adjunct to the clinical laboratory. As is customary with the passage of time, a younger generation of virologists that had not experienced the formative years was also emerging.

During 1991 and 1992, Paul Taylor from Elsevier Publishing, which had been supporting the Clinical Virology meeting, discussed the creation of a new journal with several members of PA-GRVD. This new journal called 'Clinical and Diagnostic Virology', was launched in 1993. The first editors-in-chief were Max Chernesky (for the Americas) and Pauli Leinikki (for Europe and Asia). The journal grew in volumes for the next 5 years and, as American and European societies of Clinical Virology evolved, the journal was renamed Journal of Clinical Virology. Max Chernesky served 6 years as editor-in-chief and was replaced in 1999 by Larry Drew in San Francisco.

Edith Hsiung was appointed Editor Emeritus to the journal in 1997.

Discussions at the Symposium focused on the application of newer and faster techniques rather than justifications for doing viral diagnosis. Concurrently, studies were being published and work was being presented at the Florida meeting that contributed new insights into the pathogenesis and natural history of viral infections because of the use of rapid technologies to identify viruses. At the Annual General Meeting held April 30, 1991, there was discussion about the possibility of broadening the mission of the Group and possibly changing the name to include other non-viral pathogens, such as chlamydia and mycoplasma. The majority of the members felt that they would prefer to maintain the name Pan American Group for Rapid Viral Diagnosis (Newsletter, V.17, No. 2, 1991) .

Discussions regarding the future of the PA-GRVD resurfaced at the Annual Meeting in Clearwater Beach in 1993 and continued throughout the year. A viewpoint developed that the focused aims of the PAGRVD were fading into the broader scope of clinical virology. Defining clinical virology was more difficult than one might suppose, particularly in relation to the defined mission of the PAGRVD. Although never formalized or articulated per se, in hindsight, it seems that the working definition became synonymous with the content of the Virology Symposium and the heterogeneous backgrounds and interests of the attendees. Max Chernesky, one the founders of the PA-GRVD and the Group's fourth President, wrote an article for the March, 1994 issue of the PA-GRVD Newsletter that discussed the history and aims of the PAGRVD. Chernesky's article put the PAGRVD in perspective relative to the issues that other members believed could more appropriately be dealt with in a society with a new name. He further suggested that if a new name was instituted, the PAGRVD could be retained as a subgroup within a new society.

The Executive Council of the PAGRVD discussed a possible name change for the PAGRVD at a meeting held prior to the Annual General Meeting, April 24, 1994. The President of the PAGRVD was John Sever and the other members attending the Executive Council meeting were George Ray, James Overall, Steve Specter, Ada DeForest, Joseph Waner, James Mahony and guests Curt Gleaves and Richard Hodinka. The proposed new name was Pan American Society for Clinical Virology (PASCV). At the subsequent Annual General Meeting a few hours later, the President recommended that the membership consider the new name to reflect the inclusion of all aspects of clinical virology. Max Chernesky reviewed the history of the PAGRVD following the Executive Council's recommendation and suggested that a new mandate with specific objectives should be drafted. These events were reported in the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting, April 24, 1994.

Stanley Plotkin, another of the founding fathers of the PAGRVD and the Group's second President, wrote to Max Chernesky on May 16, 1994 citing Max's article and offering his opinion that PAGRVD should be retained as the Group's name. Plotkin's further comments stated that the Group's emphasis should remain 'rapidity of diagnosis' and that clinical virology was implied in the term diagnosis. Chernesky forwarded Stan Plotkin's letter to Steve Specter, the presidentelect of the PAGRVD at the time, and to the PAGRVD Council. He included a covering letter with constructive suggestions for new organizational arrangements that could retain an identity for the PAGRVD and expand the designated interests of an altered entity. To summarize, the salient issue appeared to be whether the traditional mission of the PAGRVD and the name should persist while expanding the scope of the Group to deal with new issues or whether rapid diagnosis would be submerged into a more encompassing society of clinical virology. Similarly, in 1994 the European Group for Rapid Viral Diagnosis (EGRVD) was discussing its own history and evaluating future aims (article by Dick Madeley, Chairman EGRVD, to the EGRVD, April 22, 1994) . Since publication of that article, the EGRVD has become the European Society for Clinical Virology and the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Virology has become the Journal of Clinical Virology.

In accordance with the by-laws of the PA-GRVD for amending the by-laws, notification to change the name of PAGRVD to PASCV was published in the January, 1995 Newsletter. A motion to change the name of the Group was made at the Annual General Meeting, May, 1, 1995 by the President, Steven Specter. The motion was seconded and carried with only one vote in opposition. The next issue of the Newsletter communicated the name change to the membership by reporting the minutes of the Annual General Meeting. The name PASCV was used officially for the first time in the title of the Newsletter (V. In 1993, David Myerson mentioned at the PA-GRVD meeting that he could set up a listserver and explained that all members could get email if it was sent through the listserver. Actually that was quite a bit more than David could do, but the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center computer people were up to the task, and he just requested that the appropriate server be set up. It was set up as pagrvd@mule.fhcrc.org in May 1994, and David emailed everyone who had addresses with instructions on how to sign up. Pretty soon he had more than 100 members, as email access increased. The name was changed in July 1995 to pascv@mule.fhcrc.org when the organization's name changed, and pascv@pony.fhcrc.org in 1998 when the server was changed. The listserver is used for rapid communication about reagents, first isolates, unusual isolates, and problems in the virology laboratory. Any member may join.

The web site was started by Steve Specter in May 1995, and included a short history of PA-GRVD, with an application form to be printed out, and the agenda of the Clinical Virology Symposium. The site was hosted at the University of South Florida. In 1996 David reserved www.virology.org for the organization's handle and in February 1997 transferred the site to FHCRC servers in Seattle. He added the on line registration via web forms, added the web version of the newsletter which was emailed from the PASCV secretary, and added the molecular virology workshop agenda and registration. In 1998, Danny Weidbruck made up some very colorful html for the Molecular Virology Workshop which he emailed to David to be set up on the server.

In 1998, Steve Specter and USF set up a site to perform registration by Internet, as well as taking payment via credit card from a secure server. The www.virology.org site links to it. On occasion, it still links to other items put up by Steve on the USF server. The site serves a history of PASCV, the list of current officers, and an announcement for the annual Clinical Virology Symposium and Molecular Virology Workshop, as well as the newsletter.

Day Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Council may be taken without a meeting, if all the Councillors, consent to the action in writing and the written consent are filed with the records of the meetings of the Council. Such consents shall be treated for all purposes as a vote at a meeting. 16. Compensation. Councillors shall receive no compensation for performance of their duties as Councillors of the Corporation.

ARTICLE V -OFFICERS 1. Enumeration. The officers of the Corporation shall consist of a President, who shall also be the Chairperson of the Council, a President-Elect, a Clerk and a Treasurer, each of whom shall also serve as a Councillor. Any two (2) or more offices may be held by the same person, except the offices of President and Clerk, President and President-Elect or President and Treasurer.

2. Election. The President-Elect shall be elected for a two (2) year term by a simple majority of the Members. The Treasurer and Clerk shall be elected for four (4) year terms by a simple majority of the Members. 3. Tenure. Except as otherwise provided by law, by the Articles of Organization or by these By-Laws, the President, President-Elect, Treasurer and Clerk named in the Corporationts Articles of Organization shall hold office until the first Annual Meeting of Members and thereafter the tenure of the officers of the Corporation shall be as follows: 3.1. The President shall serve for two (2) years and thereafter until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified. Thereafter, the President shall serve for two (2) further years as an Ex-Officio member of the Council. 3.2. The President-elect shall serve for two

(2) years and thereafter until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, at which time the President-Elect shall commence his or her two (2) year term as President, in accordance with subparagraph a, above. 3.3. The Clerk and Treasurer shall each serve for four (4) years and thereafter until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Any officer may resign by deliverinq his or her written resignation to the President or Clerk and such resignation shall be effective upon receipt unless it is specified to be effective at some other time or upon the happening of some other event. 4. Re-election. After serving his term, a President will not be eligible for re-election as President-Elect for four (4) years. All other officers may be re-elected an indefinite number of times with no waiting period between terms of office. 5. Removal. The members may remove any officer with or without cause by a vote of a majority of the Members, provided that an officer may be removed for cause only after reasonable notice and opportunity to be heard by the Council prior to action thereon, 6. Vacancy. A vacancy in any office may be filled for the unexpired balance of the term by vote of a majority of the Councillors present at any meeting of the Council at which a quorum is present or by appointment by all of the Councillors if less than a quorum shall remain in office. 7. President. The President shall be the chief operating officer and the chief executive officer of the Corporation and shall serve as Chairperson of the Council. The President shall, subject to the direction of the Councillors, have general supervision and control of the business of the Corporation. The President shall, when present, preside at all meetings of the Councillors and shall have such other powers and duties as may be vested in him or her by the Council, including, (but not by way of limitation). the power to appoint all committees not otherwise provided for in the By-laws and to fill all vacancies in appointed positions. At the Annual Meeting the President shall submit a report of the operations of the Corporation for such year and a statement of its affairs, and shall from time to time report to the Council all matters within his or her knowledge which the interests of the Corporation may require to be brought to its notice. 8. President-elect. The President-Elect shall, in the absence or disability of the President, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the President, but this shall not affect his or her succession to the office of President in the third year following his or her election as President-Elect: and he or she shall perform such other duties and shall have such other powers as the Councillors may from time to time prescribe. 9. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall, subject to the direction of the Council, have general charge of the financial affairs of the Corporation, including its long-range financial planning, and shall cause to be kept accurate books of account. The Treasurer shall prepare a yearly report on the financial status of the Corporation to be delivered at the Annual Meeting. 10. Clerk. The Clerk shall be a resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, unless the Corporation has designated a resident agent in the manner provided by law. The Clerk shall attend all meetings of the Members and the Council, and shall record upon the record book of the Corporation minutes of the proceedings at such meetings. He or she shall have custody of the record books of the Corporation and shall have such other powers and shall perform such other duties as the Council may from time to time prescribe. In the absence of the Clerk from any meeting, a temporary clerk shall be appointed by the meeting. 11. Other powers and duties. Each officer shall subject to these By-Laws, have in addition to the duties and powers specific ally set forth in these By-Laws, such duties and powers as are customarily incident to his or her office, and such duties and powers as the Council may from time to time designate. 12. Compensation. Officers shall be receive no compensation for performance of their duties as Officers of the Corporation.

ARTICLE VI -COMMITTEES 1. General Committees. The Council by resolution adopted by a majority of its members in office may designate and appoint one or more committees, each of which shall consist of two or more members of the Council, which committees shall have and exercise the authority of the Council in the management of the corporation to the extent that such authority is conferred by the Council in the particular case. -During the intervals between meetings of the Council to exercise all the powers of the Council in the management and direction of the corporation and conduct the affairs of the corporation

From the National Institutes of Health: Summary of a workshop on new and useful methods in viral diagnosis

Diagnosis of Viral Infections: The Role of the Clinical Laboratory

Manual for Rapid Laboratory Viral Diagnosis. Geneva: World Health Organization

Rapid Laboratory Techniques for the Diagnosis of Viral Infections

Summary of a workshop on new and useful techniques in rapid viral diagnosis. NIAID News

From the national institutes of health: Summary of a workshop on new and useful methods in rapid viral diagnosis

Notice shall be given in the regular Newsletter published by the Corporation, and notice is deemed given when the Newsletter is deposited in the mail. postage paid and properly addressed to the Members at the Member's address as it appears in the records of the Corporation. 4. Waiver of notice. Whenever notice of a meeting is required to be given a Member under any provision of the Articles of Organization or By-Laws: of the Corporation, a written waiver thereof, executed before or after the meeting by such Member, or his or her attorney thereunto duly authorized, shall be deemed equivalent to such notice. 5. Quorum of members. Fifty of the Members present either in person or represented by proxy shall constitute a quorum of the Members for all purposes, unless the representation of a larger number shall be required by law, and, in that case the representation of the number so required shall constitute a quorum. 4. Corporate Records. The original, or attested copies, of the Articles of Organization, By-Laws and records of all meetings of the members shall be kept in Massachusetts at the principal office of the Corporation or at an office of the Corporation's Clerk or resident agent. Said copies and records need not all be kept in the same office. They shall be available at all reasonable times to the inspection of any Member for any proper purpose, but not to secure a list of Members for a purpose other than in the interest of the applicant, as a Member, relative to the affairs of the Corporation. 5. Evidence of Authority. A certificate by the Clerk or an Assistant Clerk, or a temporary Clerk, as to any action taken by the Members, the Council or any officer or representative of the Corporation shall as to all persons who rely thereon in good faith be conclusive evidence of such action. 6. Articles of Organization. All references in these By-Laws to the Articles of Organization shall be deemed to refer to the Articles of Organization of the Corporation, as amended and in effect from time to time. 7. Transactions with interested parties. In the absence of fraud, no contract or other transaction between this Corporation and any other corporation or any firm, association, partnership or person shall be affected or invalidated by the fact that any Councillor or officer of this Corporation is pecuniarily or otherwise interested in or is a director, member or officer of such other corporation or of such firm, association or partnership or is a party to or is pecuniarily or otherwise interested in such contract or other transaction or is in any way connected with any person or persons, firm, association, partnership, or corporation pecuniarily or otherwise interested therein; provided that the fact that he individually or as a Concillor, member or officer or such corporation, firm, association or partnership is such a party or is so interested shall be disclosed to or shall have been known by the Council or a majority of such members thereof as shall be present at a meeting of the council at which action upon any such contract or transaction shall be taken; any Councillor may be counted in determining the existence of a quorum and may vote at any meeting of the council for the purposes of authorizing any such contract or transaction with like force and effect as if he were not so interested, or were not a director, member or officer of such other corporation, firm, association or partnership, provided that any vote with respect to such contract or transaction must be adopted by a majority of the Councillors then in office who have no interest in such contract or transaction 8. Tax Exemption. It is intended that the Corporation be treated as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, and notice shall be given to the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate as provided in Section 508(a) of said Code. Notwithstanding any other provision in these By-Laws to the contrary, for so long as the Corporation constitutes a private foundation as defined under Section 509 of said Code, all requirements and prohibitions described in Section 508(e)(1) of said Code are incorporated herein by reference and hereby made applicable to the Corporation; and, without limitation of the foregoing, the Corporation shall act or refrain from acting so as not to subject itself to the taxes imposed by the following sections of the Code, to wit: 4941 (relating to taxes on self-dealing), 4942 (relating to taxes on failure to distribute income), 4943 (relating to taxes on excess business holdings), 4944 (relating to taxes on investments which jeopardize charitable purpose), and 4945 (relating to taxable expenditures).

The Members shall indemnify and hold the Council harmless in accordance with he provisions set forth in the Articles of Organization.

In the event of the termination, dissolution or winding up of this Corporation in any manner or for any reason whatsoever, its remaining assets, if any, shall be distributed in accordance with the provisions set forth in the Articles of organization. ARTICLE XI -AMENDMENTS These By-Laws may be amended by vote of twothirds of the votes cast by Members of the Corporation attending any meeting of Members at which a quorum is present, provided that the substance of any proposed amendment is stated in the notice of such meeting. If authorized by the Articles of Organization, the Council, by a majority of their number then in office, may also make, amend or repeal these By-Laws. in whole or in part, except with respect to (a) the provisions of these By-Laws governing (i) the removal of Councillors; (ii) the indemnification of Councillors and (iii) the amendment of these By-Laws and (b) any provisions of these By-Laws which by law, the Articles of Organization or these By-Laws, requires action by the Members.Upon written request of at least twenty-five (25) members, the Council will submit to the next meeting of the Members any proposed amendment of the By-laws.No later than the time of giving notice of the meeting of Member. next following the making, amending or repealing by the Council of any By-Law, notice thereof stating the substance of such change shall be given to all members, and any By-Law adopted by the Council may be amended or repealed by the Members.Any By-Law adopted by the Council may be amended or appealed by the Members entitled to