Dr Ruth Bishop was a leading member of the team that discovered the human rotavirus

Rotavirus

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children, and is one of several viruses that cause infections often called stomach flu, despite having no relation to influenza. It is a genus of double-stranded RNA virus in the family Reoviridae. By the age of five,...

. In 1973, she, along with G. Davidson (RCH), and collaborators I.Holmes & B.Ruck (University of Melbourne) examined cells from the intestines of children with gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is marked by severe inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract involving both the stomach and small intestine resulting in acute diarrhea and vomiting. It can be transferred by contact with contaminated food and water...

. Intestinal biopsies were taken at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and sent to Ian Holmes and Brian Ruck (University of Melbourne) to be examined by electron-microscopy. Under the electron microscope

Electron microscope

An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses a beam of electrons to illuminate the specimen and produce a magnified image. Electron microscopes have a greater resolving power than a light-powered optical microscope, because electrons have wavelengths about 100,000 times shorter than...

 cells were seen to be infected with viruses, which were originally named duovirus because they were seen in the duodenum and had a double capsid

Capsid

A capsid is the protein shell of a virus. It consists of several oligomeric structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or may not correspond to individual proteins, are called capsomeres. The capsid encloses the genetic...

. The name rotavirus was later suggested by the Irishman, Thomas Henry Flewett

Thomas Henry Flewett

Dr Thomas Henry Flewett, MD, FRCPath, FRCP was a founder member of the Royal College of Pathologists and was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1978...

, because of the round, wheel-like shape of virus particles. Rotaviruses cause diarrhoea and vomiting in young children and are a leading cause of death in the developing countries.

Dr Ruth Bishop has also published theoretical works about the patterns in the epidemiology of rotavirus infection.