microscope, a rotavirus particle looks like a wheel (rota in latin) the name was officially recognised by the international committee on taxonomy of viruses four years later. in 1976, related viruses were described in several other species of animals. these viruses, all causing acute gastroenteritis, were recognised as a collective pathogen affecting humans and other animals worldwide. rotavirus serotypes were first described in 1980, and in the following year, rotaviruses from humans were first grown in cell cultures derived from monkey kidneys, by adding trypsin (an enzyme found in the duodenum of mammals and now known to be essential for rotavirus to replicate) to the culture medium. the ability to grow rotaviruses in culture accelerated the pace of research, and by the mid-1980s the first candidate vaccines were being evaluated.