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Virology Down Under

Facts, data, info, expert opinion and a reasonable, occasionally grumpy, voice on viruses: what they are, how they tick and the illnesses they may cause.

Author: Ian M Mackay, PhD (EIC)

WHO to new PCR users: read the damned manual!

Posted onJanuary 23, 2021January 23, 2021Leave a comment

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published (14th Dec 2020, then updated 20th Jan 2021) a piece of advice for laboratories testing for SARS-CoV-2 using PCR. The advice boils down: Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, PCR

Putting PCR into real-time

Posted onJanuary 2, 2021January 2, 20212 Comments

Three letters have been very busy in 2020: P. C. and R. The Polymerase Chain Reaction. It’s a tiny, thermally controlled, cyclical, enzyme-driven, chemical reaction which lets scientists identify the Read More …

CategoriesLaboratory methods, PCRTagsMicrobiology, Pathology laboratory

The mechanics of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)…a primer

Posted onDecember 28, 2020December 28, 2020Leave a comment

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique for copying a piece of DNA a billion-fold. As the name suggests, the process creates a chain of many pieces, in this Read More …

CategoriesDNA, Laboratory methods, PCRTagsdiagnostics, DNA Down Under (DDU)

The Swiss cheese infographic that went viral

Posted onDecember 26, 2020January 1, 20214 Comments

A visual representation of how to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 struck a chord with many in 2020. I won’t rehash all that has already been written about the Swiss cheese Read More …

CategoriesCommunication, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2

Happy Festive Season to all who read this….

Posted onDecember 24, 2020December 24, 20202 Comments

..whatever your shape, colour, gender, sex, size, beliefs, weight or disposition, I wish you a safe and happy festive season. May 2021 be a better year for those of us Read More …

CategoriesEditorial

The “false-positive PCR” problem is not a problem

Posted onNovember 22, 2020December 30, 202050 Comments

If you haven’t seen all the chatter that states PCRs using more than thirty-something (someone even suggested 25 to me!) cycles will suffer from false positives and so is useless, Read More …

CategoriesCoronavirus, COVID-19, PCR, SARS-CoV-2

More testing shows more iceberg

Posted onOctober 29, 2020November 3, 20204 Comments

COVID-19 case numbers are rising quickly in many parts of the northern hemisphere. Already some totals have outstripped the peaks seen in the first wave of the pandemic. Europe and Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, PCR, SARS-CoV-2

Sigh, yes, the ‘COVID virus’ is real

Posted onOctober 6, 2020November 3, 202018 Comments

There has been talk out thar in the wildlands of Twitter from people who don’t believe the evidence that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is real. Has Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, Debunking, PCR, Virus discovery

Yes, PCR tests can detect “the COVID virus”

Posted onAugust 4, 2020September 14, 2020111 Comments

I was asked to write some comments for a fact check article about some of the myths going around about PCR-based testing and whether PCR tests can detect “the COVID Read More …

CategoriesCommunication, Debunking, DNA, Laboratory methods, PCR, SARS-CoV-2TagsRT-PCR, RT-rPCR

And another thing…on false positives

Posted onJune 29, 2020June 29, 202025 Comments

Sometimes the full story can’t fit into a media article. A lot of words can be said during an interview with a journalist but sometimes it’s just really hard to Read More …

CategoriesCoronavirus, COVID-19, Laboratory methods, PCR

Rhinovirus rampant or testing triumphant?

Posted onJune 27, 2020September 14, 202017 Comments

Turns out, this physical distancing thing actually works as advertised. Who would have thought that keeping the things viruses need for their survival – hosts full of cells – far Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, Picornavirus, Rhinovirus

We don’t yet know the origin story for SARS-CoV-2

Posted onMay 4, 2020May 4, 202025 Comments

By Katherine E Arden, PhD & Ian M Mackay, PhD The existence of a coronavirus related to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was first hinted at by a researcher Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Virus discovery

Kits and reagents and viruses

Posted onApril 12, 2020October 30, 202012 Comments

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven use of the words “kit” and “reagent”. I completely feel for you if you still have no real idea of what is meant by these Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, Laboratory methods, PCR, SARS-CoV-2

COVID-19 cases slow a little in Australia

Posted onMarch 27, 2020March 28, 202014 Comments

Our borders have been shut to non-citizens for about a week and despite being regularly admonished for being terrible at obeying confusing, constantly changing or poorly communicated new rules, the Read More …

CategoriesUncategorized

COVID-19 is not a virus, but SARS-CoV-2 is

Posted onMarch 21, 2020March 23, 202050 Comments

For about two weeks we lived with, published using, and talked about, a disease-causing virus called the “novel coronavirus”. That name was always going to create problems like, what do Read More …

CategoriesCoronavirus, COVID-19

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← Older posts

Recent Posts

  • WHO to new PCR users: read the damned manual! January 23, 2021
  • Putting PCR into real-time January 2, 2021
  • The mechanics of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)…a primer December 28, 2020
  • The Swiss cheese infographic that went viral December 26, 2020
  • Happy Festive Season to all who read this…. December 24, 2020
  • The “false-positive PCR” problem is not a problem November 22, 2020
  • More testing shows more iceberg October 29, 2020
  • Sigh, yes, the ‘COVID virus’ is real October 6, 2020
  • Yes, PCR tests can detect “the COVID virus” August 4, 2020
  • And another thing…on false positives June 29, 2020
  • Rhinovirus rampant or testing triumphant? June 27, 2020
  • We don’t yet know the origin story for SARS-CoV-2 May 4, 2020
  • Kits and reagents and viruses April 12, 2020
  • COVID-19 cases slow a little in Australia March 27, 2020
  • COVID-19 is not a virus, but SARS-CoV-2 is March 21, 2020

All opinions are my own and do not represent medical advice or the views of any institution.

All graphics made by me are free-to-use. Please just cite the particular page, blog and me. A heads-up would be nice, but that can happen later.

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Regular reads…

  • FluTrackers-everything infectious, before it happens
  • Mike Coston’s Avian Flu Diary
  • Crawford Kilian’s infectious disease blog
  • Pathogen perspectives: Ebola and more
  • ProMED mail
  • WHO Disease Outbreak News
  • HealthMap
  • STAT News
  • CIDRAP-timely infectious disease reporting
  • Maia Majumder’s blog
  • Kai Kupferschmidt
  • Martin Enserink
  • EpiRamblings

 

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