A second outbreak of an ebolavirus in the DRC
The Ministry of Health (MOH), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has confirmed 4 new ebolavirus cases in a new location. Earlier there had been reports of 26 cases Read More …
Author: Ian M Mackay, PhD (EIC)
Influenza vaccines do have an effect and we need to do more to understand it
Sometimes it’s hard to convey complex issues in a short-form article written for a general public audience. Other times, stories start off with an overly-simplified title they never recover from. Occasionally they lack any Read More …
Yes, there were signs that Ebola was in west Africa, perhaps as far back as 1973
If a bat carries the Ebola virus or something related in the forest, people find signs of infection in humans, publish it and read about it, but no-one remembers, does Read More …
The hardcore anti-vaxxer and you
Below is a scenario I recently encountered which was very familiar to me. Boringly so. I’ve tried to put some words around it in case recognising the flow and patterns Read More …
Parechovirus on the brain
Two recent papers have added to growing recognition that long-term neurological outcomes can follow severe parechovirus (HPeV) infection of the central nervous system (CNS), in the very young.[1,2] The first Read More …
Queensland influenza keeping it cool….
This week’s influenza (flu) data from Queensland’s Department of Health suggest that the virus is toying with Queenslanders – and much of Australia – this season. The total number of Read More …
Influenza virus haemagglutination: a sticky technique that does a lot of lifting
Haemagglutination (hemagglutination if you’re from the US) is the sticking (-agglutination) together of red blood cells (RBCs). Haem is the iron-containing, oxygen-transporting portion of haemoglobin, a molecule found in RBCs. This laboratory Read More …
Science and outreach: the good, the bad and why to get involved
Communication is at the heart of human interaction and yet science and outreach do not automatically go hand in hand. Sometimes it seems that science and medicine have forgotten how Read More …
Social media and scientists – the communication must go on
The grey (US: gray) literature is that written material which is not part of the “traditional” publishing model – unpublished, privately published or non-commercial writings.[1,2,10] GreyLit can also include blogs and Read More …
Rapid HTLV-1 associated disease onset: age and infective dermatitis in Bahia, Brazil
The Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) retrovirus infects an estimated 5 to 10 million people worldwide. Infection results in carriage of the virus but about 90% of carriers don’t Read More …
Reporting flu – tell the story don’t create fear…
“Flu cases jump by 256% in just five years” screams a newspaper headline from the Daily Mercury, a paywalled News Corp publication. It sure seems like scary stuff doesn’t it? Read More …
Ebola virus disease and the game-changing vaccine….
As the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) looks to be under control, how much the vaccine has helped remains an unanswered question. But Read More …
Flu vaccination and effective communication…
A brief article about influenza (flu) vaccination appeared in the Conversation on Tuesday night. The piece, entitled “The flu vaccine is being oversold – it’s not that effective“, states that we Read More …
The forgotten benefits of the flu vaccine…
A…surprising…article about influenza (flu) vaccination appeared in the Conversation today. The piece, entitled “The flu vaccine is being oversold – it’s not that effective“, tells us that we are being given Read More …
Suspected cases of Ebola virus disease rise and fall while confirmed cases add up but slow down….
Those closely watching the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak – or any outbreak – will have noticed that some of the daily numbers go up and down very quickly. This Read More …