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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: Vaccines & vaccination

Measles takes your immune memories

Posted onApril 9, 2025April 9, 2025

Acute measles virus (MeV) infection can be serious You may have heard that the United States is having a multistate outbreak of MeV infections, mainly causing its worst outcomes among Read More …

CategoriesImmunology, Measles, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsImmune amnesia

An illustration of a spherical RSV virion.

A good news RSV vaccine story for adults

Posted onFebruary 5, 2025February 5, 2025

An overview of a new study in adults showing the Abrysvo respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine preventing lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by RSV infection among older adults, a Read More …

CategoriesRSV, Vaccines & vaccination

Variation is key to the SARS-CoV-2 ‘waves’

Posted onMay 7, 2023May 7, 2023

Just a short note to highlight that viruses changing their ‘look’ through selection and expansion of variants in response to our immune system’s pressure on their evolution has been the Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, Vaccines & vaccination, VariantsTagsepidemic

person holding injection

The 2023 southern hemisphere influenza vaccine

Posted onApril 29, 2023July 13, 2023

Each year we get a new vaccine for each hemisphere. The design gets settled six months out, and sometimes a lot can change in that time. So how does the Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza, Vaccines & vaccination

pexels-photo-5878501.jpeg

Ireland and the vaccinated hospitalised-it ain’t what it looks like

Posted onNovember 6, 2021November 7, 20213 Comments

The media have again become fixated on the higher number of COVID-19 fully-vaccinated people in Irish hospitals and ICUs – but when you apply a little mathematics, it’s clear that Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, Debunking, Vaccines & vaccination

There are plenty of placebo-controlled vaccine trials

Posted onDecember 31, 2019September 22, 202011 Comments

The agglomeration of anti-vaxxers love to plague us with their pro-disease perfidy. They really enjoy wheeling out the lie that vaccines have never been tested with a placebo. Turns out, Read More …

CategoriesDebunking, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsPlacebo

Measles has peaked in Samoa…

Posted onDecember 11, 2019December 27, 20192 Comments

In one of the most satisfying graphs I’ve ever made, this plot of weekly measles cases – both suspected and confirmed (the minority) – shows that the epidemic of measles Read More …

CategoriesMeasles, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsSamoa

Anti-vaxxers hate your children

Posted onNovember 27, 2019December 1, 201912 Comments

What is happening in Samoa is exactly what science and history tell us to expect when the measles virus is introduced into a population with low immunity. Sick, hospitalised, immune-damaged Read More …

CategoriesEditorial, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsanti-vaccination, Samoa

H3N2 is 50 years old and still going strong

Posted onNovember 19, 2019November 19, 20191 Comment

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 …

CategoriesInfluenza, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsA/H3N2, drift, Immunology, Imprinting

The reality of vaccination success…

Posted onSeptember 23, 2019September 23, 20191 Comment

Perhaps we all forget just how well vaccines have protected us over the decades. Here’s a reminder! Vaccination success is not something we keep in front of mind because it’s Read More …

CategoriesVaccines & vaccinationTagsImmunisation

Could Measles virus and Ebola virus be working together in the DRC?

Posted onSeptember 7, 2019September 9, 20192 Comments

Measles, resulting from measles virus (MeV) infection can cause immune suppression and “immune amnesia”. MeV infection most often affects non-immune children but can occur in any age group. Immune suppression Read More …

CategoriesEbola virus, Measles, Vaccines & vaccination

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: Measles in Australia

Posted onApril 18, 2019April 18, 20191 Comment

Measles in Australia is having a bumper year. But it hasn’t been such a good year for those who have not yet been vaccinated by necessity (younger than 9-12 months) Read More …

CategoriesMeasles, Vaccines & vaccination

Aluminium and you

Posted onApril 12, 2019December 30, 2019

Aluminium (aluminum if you’re from North America) is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust and the third most abundant element of the planet.[1,37] Compounds containing aluminium are also Read More …

CategoriesDebunking, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsAluminium

Measles hot spots all over Australia

Posted onApril 5, 2019April 9, 2019

Overnight, New South Wales announced another two cases of measles bringing its total “since Christmas” to 30 cases.[1] Today Queensland announced another two as well. But perhaps more worrying is Read More …

CategoriesMeasles, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsDarwin, Northern Territory

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Recent Posts

  • What if Harvard loses? April 19, 2025
  • Measles takes your immune memories April 9, 2025
  • A measles infographic: virus, symptoms and white blood cells March 27, 2025
  • United States influenza: biggest season in 15 years of data February 18, 2025
  • No new A/H7N8 chook farms hit in Victoria so far February 17, 2025
  • The US 2024-2025 flu season and the vaccine February 13, 2025
  • A good news RSV vaccine story for adults February 5, 2025
  • Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in Australia – a 2022 study and the current state January 29, 2025
  • Not the “Chinese flu” label thing again…please January 6, 2025
  • SNAPDATE: MPOX cases in Australia, 14.09.2024 September 14, 2024
  • In Australia, COVID-19 deaths may have stopped decreasing September 6, 2024
  • It takes a while to gather death data September 5, 2024
  • Update on Monkeypox virus (MPXV) transmission in Australia August 6, 2024
  • More PCR cycles don’t mean magic results August 5, 2024
  • Stop Hijacking Definitions To Farm Anger And Clicks! December 29, 2023

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, but that can happen later.

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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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