Second human influenza A/H7N9 case for 2017/8 season…
It’s been a very slow start to the H7N9 season (=spillovers from infected poultry to susceptible humans) in China. Why it’s been so slow is unclear. The Hong Kong (HK) Centre for Read More …
Author: Ian M Mackay, PhD (EIC)
Aussie Flu, UK Flu – who cares? Get vaccinated.
Some thoughts from Dr Katherine Arden and myself about where the flu viruses sweeping the UK came from. Is it the “Aussie flu”? The short answer is simply “No”. There Read More …
Influenza virus transmission: with or without symptoms, you’re dropping Flu virus
Influenza viruses infect our cells, but cell entry alone does not result in influenza (the disease). What happens after our cells get infected can depend on quite a few things. Read More …
Klassevirus…brief introduction to a Salivirus A
Klasseviruses are now assigned as members of the family Picornaviridae, genus Klassevirus, species Salivirus A.[4] Klassevirus-1 was first identified using deep sequencing [1] from a pool of 141 stool samples mostly Read More …
Saffold virus…..brief introduction to a Cardiovirus B
Until fairly recently, members of the family Picornaviridae, genus Cardiovirus, species Cardiovirus B [8] were thought to mainly replicate in the gut of rodents[1]. But in 2007 the genome of Saffold virus Read More …
Flu in the US – Week 51
It’s been all about influenza type A in the United States (US) so far this annual 2017/18 Flu season. In particular, the influenza A H3N2 (A/H3N2) subtype has been dominating Read More …
How the 2013 influenza A/H7N9 was thought to have arisen….
This is a graphical resurrection of sorts. An old image of mine I made back in 2013/14 and some text from what used to be the H7N9 page on my Read More …
Avian influenza A H7N9 virus starts its 6th wave….
It’s that time of year again! No, not time for more leftovers, but time to turn our eyes towards China for signs of H7N9 activity.[1] While this is a ‘bird Read More …
Why the current influenza season is a big one…
We wrote a little something on this topic for the Conversation back in November. It may be of interest you in the northern hemisphere. You can read the entire piece, Read More …
“Rhinovirus” occurs in people who are not sick ergo it never causes sickness…
In a community study of healthy infants reported in 2015, the authors stated that “Our finding of low RSV prevalence in asymptomatic infants suggests that RSV is likely the causative Read More …
Human respiratory syncytial virus: an example of why calling them many usually outweighs calling them few, or one
Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is a beast of a respiratory virus among infants-a leading cause of their hospitalization. One estimate reported the worldwide infection of 33.8 million infants younger Read More …
Conference tweeting: what’s your aim here?
There are many lists detailing what you need to consider when you are about to start some conference tweeting. Mine is below. But before we get to the list, ask Read More …
Well done Aussies, the people made marriage equality law….its leaders, not so much
While this entire horrible process of “allowing” our LGBQTI community to legally show their dedication to one another in the eyes of the law – the way the rest of Read More …
Rhinovirus C makes use of less regulation…
A new Australian study may help to explain why asthmatics have trouble suppressing the inflammation triggered by respiratory virus infections.[1] And it’s to do with Rhinovirus C. In particular, the Read More …
Flu is a slippery virus, a tough vaccine target and a challenge to contain…
Much was made of a regrettable interview earlier in the week about the Australian equivalent Flu vaccine. Some of the headlines included… Ouch. Prof. Paul Van Buynder was quoted as Read More …