Influenza (flu) hit Australia earlier in 2019 than it had for many years. It reached a very high peak of cases and the flu season lasted for longer than usual. Read More …
The highly variable H3N2 influenza viruses which seem to cause us the most trouble, heartache and headlines have only been with us since 1968. These tiny droplets of dread emerged Read More …
The world of influenza (Flu) is filled with many strange things. One of these is why we label the influenza A (FluA) viruses with an “H” (short for the name Read More …
I was asked to present a talk for science week 2019. I thought an explanation of the unprecedented 2019 influenza (flu) season (nicknamed flunami) would be a good talk. But Read More …
The Flunami (see a definition here before you decide upon your own dear reader) has been a rising tide of influenza cases. It was more than just increased testing though. Read More …
We’ve talked earlier about clades; a term which relates to how we can put influenza (flu) viruses that sit under the broad title, “A/H3N2”, into subgroupings. Clades are a way Read More …
Australia’s unseasonal flu season is still with us, albeit a little quieter than it was. Some jurisdictions have already had a peak and have returned to almost normal numbers of Read More …
One of the most common comments I’ve read on Twitter from my northern hemisphere buds these past weeks is – “hey look at those bad influenza (flu) numbers in Australia…that Read More …
It may surprise some to know that influenza isn’t caused by just one “flu virus”. There are multiple flu viruses which can all cause the flu and they are around Read More …
The influenza viruses are a bit different from other viruses that infect and affect our respiratory tract. Their genetic material – the stuff that acts as the blueprint to make Read More …
Flu. What the heck are you doing? Since November 2018 – traditionally a time of influenza decline as the winter season wanes to a baseline level – you’ve been causing Read More …
It seems like every year we’re told that the timespan for which influenza (flu) vaccination provides us immunity is a little shorter. In the next few posts, I’ll have a Read More …
A snap update of the current laboratory-confirmed numbers of influenza-infected people in Australia as we move to halfway through the autumn month April in the southern hemisphere. As can be Read More …
Summer has technically ended in Australia (sure – go look at a temperature prediction!) and Flu spent all of it being abnormally active. The 2018 Flu season peaked in September Read More …
Gain-of-function research of concern (GOFROC) virus research has returned to the news.[1] With it come fears of dark risks; we will either die from influenza without this research or die Read More …