MERS-CoV detection but not disease…
Infection but not sickness Asymptomatic infections are those where we can detect the virus using reliable laboratory methods, but the infected person doesn’t show any signs or symptoms of a Read More …
Author: Ian M Mackay, PhD (EIC)
The found113….
Back in May of 2016 I received a surprise set of deidentified Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) data. It was a list of the “found113”. This is a very delayed Read More …
MERS & the Hajj – watch out for the Flu!
The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (CoV) has now been known of for 6 consecutive Hajj mass gatherings (see the bar graphs). To date, there has not been a Read More …
Talking Flu to a wider audience: some measures of impact
We keyboard warriors love to talk into our echo chambers, shill our bigPharma ideas to pay the rent on our Bell 429WLG and generally hear ourselves think out loud. So Read More …
Flu outbreak and concurrent deaths in Tasmania…
Okay I don’t want to follow up the last post with another to try and paint a picture that the sky is falling. Influenza (Flu) can kill. That’s my point. Read More …
Flu-associated deaths in Victoria…
I’m not joking around when I say vaccines have been created to reduce the worst of the diseases caused by some infectious nasties. We all know about the success of Read More …
VDU is moving house…..no Utes required
Virology Down Under has lived over on Google’s Blogger platform since its first post back in March 2013. After much umm’ing and ahh’ing, I’ve taken the plunge and moved VDU Read More …
This little MERS-CoV infected piggy had RNA, but that little piggy with indirect contact had none…
Back in April, a Spanish/Dutch collaborative study came out looking at whether pigs deliberately infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) might be able to transmit that virus to Read More …
900 words on some general stuff about viruses and those other bugs…
We (Dr @kat_arden and I) were invited to contribute one part to a four-part series in The Conversation this week – and after a lot of no…yes/no/yes from yours truly (I do that Read More …
Ebola virus disease over in the DRC….
Another year, another outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) overcome in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the help of a mix of expert local skill and knowledge, isolation Read More …
Ebola virus disease over in the DRC….
Another year, another outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) overcome in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the help of a mix of expert local skill and knowledge, isolation Read More …
Editor’s Note #27: Anakin Fencewalker joins the Force…
After 19 years, our furry family member had to leave us this Wednesday. His quality of life was decreasing, and he had stopped eating – he made the call, and Read More …
Another canary in the same coalmine – mild MERS may be bad news…
Sometimes, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is detected in a person who is not ill. Weird huh? Not really. This is the result of laboratory testing of contacts Read More …
Working for health can make you sick….
Below is a quick look at the percentage of total Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases reported each week that are listed as being healthcare workers (HCWs). The sources of Read More …