History of the Society

Dr. Kenneth McIntosh conceived the original idea of Pan American Group for Rapid Viral Diagnosis (PAGRVD) while studying immunofluorescent techniques with Dr. Phillip Gardner and Joan McQuillan at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1976. Dr. Gardner had been instrumental in organizing the European Group for Rapid Viral Diagnosis. Upon return to the United States, Dr. McIntosh discussed the concept with Drs. Stanley Plotkin and Max Chernesky, and others working in diagnostic virology. An organizational meeting was held at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland on January 19, 1977.

Details of the history of the Society have been published in the Journal of Clinical Virology, Volume 16, Supplement 1, 2000.

The Society's association with the Clinical Virology Symposium dates back to 1984, when Steven Specter invited PAGRVD to co-sponsor the annual Clinical Virology Symposium in Clearwater Beach, Florida. The first Clinical Virology Symposium was held in Clearwater Beach, Florida in April, 1985.