Following its discovery in 1983 by Dr M S. Balayan, our understanding of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) has changed completely. First noticed as an unexplained hepatitis in a group of soviet soldiers posted in Afghanistan, in a self-experiment, Dr Balayan ingested stool samples he suspected contained the virus. Subsequently he contracted HEV and proved its existence under the electron microscope.
Beyond Balayan acknowledges the humble beginnings of HEV by a soviet virologist, the extensive global revelations made since and all that will be ascertained in the future.
