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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.

Category: Influenza

Every flu season is a soup of viruses

Posted onJune 6, 2019July 4, 20196 Comments

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 …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsFlu, flunami, influenza, summer flu, why so much flu

An influenza virus is the sum of its parts

Posted onMay 30, 2019May 1, 2025

Influenza viruses are distinct from other viruses that infect and affect the respiratory tract. Their genetic material—the stuff that acts as the blueprint to make and assemble their proteins—comes in Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza

The Australian Flunami rolls on

Posted onMay 18, 2019August 5, 2019

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 …

CategoriesInfluenza

Influenza vaccine protection in adults: it’s better than you think

Posted onApril 19, 2019April 20, 2019

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 …

CategoriesInfluenza, Vaccines & vaccination

SNAPDATE: Flu in Australia to 15th April 2019

Posted onApril 15, 2019May 18, 2019

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 …

CategoriesInfluenza

Elevate the Flu baseline

Posted onMarch 5, 2019June 11, 2019

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 …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsbaseline, H1N1, H3N2, lab testing, laboratory confirmed

Scared of the Dark risks

Posted onMarch 2, 2019March 3, 20192 Comments

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 …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsGain of function, GOF

Flu vaccines can Save The Day

Posted onFebruary 26, 2019March 1, 2019

There is a strong relationship between heart failure and respiratory illness due to infection.[1] It makes good sense that if a safe way to prevent infection from developing into illness Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza, Vaccines & vaccinationTagscardiac failure, Heart failure

Starting a riot

Posted onFebruary 17, 2019March 1, 20191 Comment

Among last year’s many stories about influenza (Flu) deaths during the 1918 pandemic, we often heard about the secondary impact of bacteria; they complicate Flu virus infections, causing pneumonia and Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza

SunFluwer…

Posted onJanuary 21, 2019January 22, 2019

Just for fun, I thought I’d check in on Australia’s influenza tally again. I posted my last tally 3 days ago (Jan 18) and upon looking today (Jan 21), it’s Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsAustralia, influenza, seasonal influenza, summer

Flu keeps Australia under the weather

Posted onJanuary 11, 2019January 11, 2019

Influenza has been unseasonably hyperactive during Australia’s hotter and wetter months at the end of 2018 and the start of 2019. In what’s shaping up to be our biggest summer Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsAustralia, influenza virus, Queensland, seasonal influenza, summer

Influenza seasons are unpredictable: deal with it

Posted onOctober 11, 2018October 12, 2018

Mainstream Australian media are reporting that influenza cases in Australia have dropped by 83 per cent. Doctors have also said this is the result of science, guesswork and “a bit Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsAustralia, influenza, seasonal influenza, vaccine, vaccine effectiveness

Only effective vaccines can protect us from respiratory viruses because we’re us

Posted onAugust 24, 2018August 25, 2018

As winter wraps up in Australia, it’s become quite clear that – barring a very unusual late burst of activity – the 2018 influenza (flu) season has passed Australia by with Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza, RhinovirusTagscommon cold, epidemic, Flu, household, influenza, outbreak, pandemic, respiratory viruses, vaccine

Flu is giving Australia a breather….

Posted onAugust 21, 2018August 25, 2018

August is the traditional Australian peak influenza (flu) month. The peak can move around a bit but it usually flu virus party time, followed in size by September. We’re two-thirds of Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsepidemiology, influenza, lab testing, molecular epidemiology

Influenza vaccines do have an effect and we need to do more to understand it

Posted onAugust 1, 2018October 15, 20183 Comments

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 …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagscommunication, effectiveness, influenza, science communication, vaccination

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Recent Posts

  • What if Harvard loses?
  • Measles takes your immune memories
  • A measles infographic: virus, symptoms and white blood cells
  • United States influenza: biggest season in 15 years of data
  • No new A/H7N8 chook farms hit in Victoria so far

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 too but that can happen later.

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