Tyrrell’s rule of three.

In any given year, a third of upper respiratory infections will be caused by rhinovirus.

This post is for parents with fluey children and those who worry about respiratory infections. It comes from the recollections of one of the guys who discovered the first coronavirus. 

If you have read this morning’s post on the return of Rhinovirus and you want a bit more background on this strange and hitherto unknown agent, read on.

The late Dr David Tyrrell knew a thing or two about acute respiratory illness. You see, as a young doctor-researcher, he worked with Smith, Laidlaw and Andrewes. I say, who? The guys who first identified the influenza virus in humans.

 He was part of the golden generation of virologists, like Shope, Dochez, Gwaltney and Dick, who made massive strides in the second half of the last century. 

 Tyrell ended up directing the MRC Common Cold Unit, which between 1946 and 1989, did 1006 studies and experiments on nearly 20 thousand male and female volunteers (several thousand volunteered many times).

 The Unit was closed because acute respiratory infections no long…