The disease has been present in Israel for over 40 years and then appeared in Cuba, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic in the early 90s. Soon after, it became the biggest constraint to tomato production in Dominican Republic. The virus got established quickly and tomato growers in Florida began seeing its economic impact soon after. The virus is transmitted by sweet potato and silverleaf whiteflies. Infected plants often display characteristic symptoms.
Early infection leads to severe stunting of the plant with virtually no yield at all.
The virus has a wide host range although tomato is one of the primary crops affected. Recently there is a report from Mexico that pepper is also susceptible to the virus. As the disease is well-established in Florida and with the climate in the southeast conducive for the build up of whitefly population, it was thought that it was only a matter of time before the disease showed up in Georgia. During 1999 Fall, reports of the disease came from Grady, Colquitt and Tift Counties. This sudden outbreak of the disease may be attributed to relatively large populations of the whitefly vector in south Georgia.