Discovery of the Common Cold

The "common cold" is the most common disease that infects humans. It is not really one single illness, but is caused by a variety of different viruses that all infect the upper respiratory system.

Initial Description

• While the common cold has, no doubt, infected humans for millennia, it was first described as a disease in the 16th century. It was called the "cold" because the symptoms were considered similar to exposure to cold weather.

Benjamin Franklin

• In the 18th century, American founding father Benjamin Franklin studied the common cold. He discovered that the common cold is transmitted between people, especially when they are in confined spaces.

Rhinoviruses

• In 1946, the British government set up a special unit to discover the causes of the common cold. In the 1950s, they discovered rhinoviruses, some of the common viruses that cause the disease.

Coronaviruses

• In the mid-1960s, the Common Cold Unit discovered coronaviruses, another, rarer, type of viruses that cause the common cold.

Possible Treatments

• The Common Cold Unit looked into treatments for the common cold in the 1970s. They discovered that some drugs could prevent infection in some cases, but were not able to develop any practical treatment.