Progenitor Virus

The Progenitor Virus also known as the Mother Virus and Founder Virus in alternate translations, is a virus which predates the T-Virus.

Discovery
The Progenitor Virus was the first mutagenic virus ever discovered and would become the base from which the Umbrella Corporation's most successful bio-organic weapons research would stem several decades later. The Mother Virus was discovered in Africa on December 4, 1967 by Edward Ashford, and Lord Ozwell E. Spencer in an attempt to enhance its efficiency as a biological weapon. After being experimented upon by Dr. James Marcus, the Umbrella Corporation was then founded by the three, with Spencer providing most of the funding, to disguise the research they hoped to carry out. Dr. Ashford, who had high hopes for dramatic medical and scientific achievements through the study of the virus, died because of a Progenitor Virus infection in 1968.

Despite Dr. Ashford's death, his colleague, Dr. Marcus, would continue his research into the Progenitor Virus as planned. Dr. Marcus, however, was much more interested in the effects the Progenitor Virus would produce when exposed to organic subjects, whilst Spencer had plans for the virus to be utilized towards military applications. Eventually this research would begin to yield results, and would eventually show Marcus and Spencer that cells infected with the virus would undergo a very violent and uncontrolled cellular change through the mutation of the host's genes. This caused increased aggressiveness and rapid growth in non-mammals, while mammals would exhibit various new attributes, including the symptoms displayed in the non-mammal specimens. However, the results weren't suitable for Umbrella's plans, as the subjects would prove to be inefficient and uncoordinated bio-organic weapons. As Marcus and Spencer became obsessively fixated on the possibilities the Progenitor Virus offered, this fixation eventually took a dark turn. The first human subjects to be infected were Lisa Trevor and her mother, Jessica, who were administered the virus on November 10, 1967. Jessica was administered the Type-A strain and, after further tests, fell victim to the experiments. Lisa was administered the Type-B strain and underwent severe mutation, becoming extremely aggressive, suffering dramatic decline in intelligence and horrible disfigurement. Lisa would then become Umbrella's test subject for several decades.

Birth of the T-Virus
In 1978, James Marcus combined the Progenitor virus with leech DNA, creating the t-Virus. In 1988, Dr. Marcus' two most valued (and, ironically, most trusted) assistants, William Birkin and Albert Wesker, would then assassinate Marcus at the request of his partner and co-founder, Lord Spencer, and continue his research from within the secluded Arklay Research Facility. Here, under Spencer's supervision, Dr. Birkin continued to experiment on Lisa with new variants of the t-Virus. These experiments led to the creation of the G-virus at a much later point in time, discovered by mixing the Type-B Progenitor Virus and the countless viral experiments made on Lisa and the NE-Alpha parasite, injected into her body.

One way to destroy each of these viral strains from within a host body is to inject the patient with one of several prototype anti-virus formulas created specifically, although in minute amounts, to combat both the 'Tyrant' and 'Gene' viral strains. It should be noted that these anti-viral agents will only take effect if the host subject has not reached critical infection. However, these anti-viruses have been known to be scarce, and it is unlikely a complete cure can ever be achieved, considering the rapidity of the mutations of both "t" and "G" viruses.