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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.

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Virus on a boat – a belated graphic

Virus on a boat – a belated graphic

Remember when we all died from the pandemic that started on a cruise ship, caused by a passenger acquiring and spreading Orthohantavirus andesense? Me neither. That’s because we didn’t. And Read More ...

Well, the day had to come. “Bird flu” flies into Australia on a feathered wing.

Well, the day had to come. “Bird flu” flies into Australia on a feathered wing.

Lock up the chooks! According to Australia’s national broadcaster, Western Australia (WA) is the site for the first importation to the Australian mainland – via a bird – of an Read More ...

Looks like Flu has reset in Australia

Looks like Flu has reset in Australia

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a brand-new respiratory virus, SARS-CoV-2. With that introduction, as suspected, lots of things were thrown into disarray. One of those was the circulation of other respiratory Read More ...

A/H5N1 strain of avian influenza A virus (“bird flu”) confirmed in two dead birds in Australia

A/H5N1 strain of avian influenza A virus (“bird flu”) confirmed in two dead birds in Australia

Australia’s Minister for Agriculture has notified Australians that overnight laboratory testing confirmed the presence of A/H5N1 in one sick bird and an H5 virus in another, both found in the same region of Read More ...

Influenza virus transmission: with or without symptoms, you’re dropping Flu virus

Posted onJanuary 14, 2018October 31, 202120 Comments

Influenza viruses infect our cells, but cell entry alone does not result in influenza (the disease). What happens after our cells get infected can depend on quite a few things. Read More …

CategoriesAerosols, InfluenzaTagsaerosol, airborne, droplet, droplet nuclei, Flu, influenza, influenza virus, transmission

Klassevirus…brief introduction to a Salivirus A

Posted onJanuary 4, 2018January 4, 2018

Klasseviruses are now assigned as members of the family Picornaviridae, genus Klassevirus, species Salivirus A.[4] Klassevirus-1 was first identified using deep sequencing [1] from a pool of 141 stool samples mostly Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsKlassevirus, Picornaviridae, salivirus, Salivirus A

Saffold virus…..brief introduction to a Cardiovirus B

Posted onJanuary 3, 2018

Until fairly recently, members of the family Picornaviridae, genus Cardiovirus, species Cardiovirus B [8] were thought to mainly replicate in the gut of rodents[1]. But in 2007 the genome of Saffold virus Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagscardiovirus, picornavirus, Picornavridae, saffold virus, SAFV

Flu in the US – Week 51

Posted onDecember 31, 2017December 31, 20173 Comments

It’s been all about influenza type A in the United States (US) so far this annual 2017/18 Flu season. In particular, the influenza A H3N2 (A/H3N2) subtype has been dominating Read More …

CategoriesUncategorized

How the 2013 influenza A/H7N9 was thought to have arisen….

Posted onDecember 27, 2017

This is a graphical resurrection of sorts. An old image of mine I made back in 2013/14 and some text from what used to be the H7N9 page on my Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsavian influenza, bird flu, evolution, H7N9, influenza virus

Avian influenza A H7N9 virus starts its 6th wave….

Posted onDecember 27, 2017December 27, 2017

It’s that time of year again! No, not time for more leftovers, but time to turn our eyes towards China for signs of H7N9 activity.[1] While this is a ‘bird Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsavian influenza, bird flu, H7N9, influenza

Why the current influenza season is a big one…

Posted onDecember 27, 2017

We wrote a little something on this topic for the Conversation back in November. It may be of interest you in the northern hemisphere. You can read the entire piece, Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagscommunity engagement, Flu, influenza, SciComm

“Rhinovirus” occurs in people who are not sick ergo it never causes sickness…

Posted onDecember 27, 2017June 28, 2026

In a community study of healthy infants reported in 2015, the authors stated that “Our finding of low RSV prevalence in asymptomatic infants suggests that RSV is likely the causative Read More …

CategoriesPicornavirus, RhinovirusTagsdistinct, genotype, HRV, rhinovirus, RV, RV-A, RV-B, RV-C, species

Human respiratory syncytial virus: an example of why calling them many usually outweighs calling them few, or one

Posted onDecember 21, 2017February 7, 20261 Comment

Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is a beast of a respiratory virus among infants-a leading cause of their hospitalization. One estimate reported the worldwide infection of 33.8 million infants younger Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsgenotype, respiratory syncytial virus, respiratory virus, RSV

Conference tweeting: what’s your aim here?

Posted onDecember 10, 2017July 3, 2018

There are many lists detailing what you need to consider when you are about to start some conference tweeting. Mine is below. But before we get to the list, ask Read More …

CategoriesCommunicationTagsConference presentation, social media, SoMe, Tweeps, Twitter

Well done Aussies, the people made marriage equality law….its leaders, not so much

Posted onDecember 8, 2017August 8, 2019

While this entire horrible process of “allowing” our LGBQTI community to legally show their dedication to one another in the eyes of the law – the way the rest of Read More …

CategoriesUncategorized

Rhinovirus C makes use of less regulation…

Posted onNovember 21, 2017July 13, 2019

A new Australian study may help to explain why asthmatics have trouble suppressing the inflammation triggered by respiratory virus infections.[1] And it’s to do with Rhinovirus C. In particular, the Read More …

CategoriesPicornavirus, Rhinovirus

Flu is a slippery virus, a tough vaccine target and a challenge to contain…

Posted onNovember 5, 2017February 18, 20253 Comments

Much was made of a regrettable interview earlier in the week about the Australian equivalent Flu vaccine. Some of the headlines included… Ouch. Prof. Paul Van Buynder was quoted as Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsAustralia, epidemic, Flu, quadrivalent vaccine, vaccine

Flu has long been associated with death in younger adults: it is known

Posted onNovember 3, 2017May 24, 2018

A very short post just to highlight that younger adults have been linked to Flu deaths for many years. This is still far less often than occurs among the elderly Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsdeath, Flu, influenza, mortality, vaccine

A cold virus in the blood…

Posted onOctober 25, 2017July 1, 20252 Comments

Sometimes, viruses jump – or leak – from where we think they belong, turning up in an unexpected body compartment. We saw it with Ebola virus – it’s now known Read More …

CategoriesRhinovirus, UncategorizedTagscommunity acquired pneumonia, pneumonia, poliovirus, rhinovirus, viraemia

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Recent Posts

  • Virus on a boat – a belated graphic July 13, 2026
  • There are a lot of people sick….again…in winter…. June 28, 2026
  • A/H5N1 strain of avian influenza A virus (“bird flu”) confirmed in two dead birds in Australia June 20, 2026
  • Well, the day had to come. “Bird flu” flies into Australia on a feathered wing. June 19, 2026
  • Looks like Flu has reset in Australia June 5, 2026
  • The ridiculously oversimplified claim that PCR can “detect one single molecule” May 26, 2026
  • Just 0.7% of of universally screened asymptomatic patients produced unrepeatable PCR tests May 2, 2026
  • A little virus that still can: poliovirus and poliomyelitis May 1, 2026
  • Age and COVID-19: What’s with all the young kids? April 14, 2026
  • Asymptomatic, acute and persistent COVID-19 symptom changes over the course of three infections March 5, 2026
  • How are asymptomatic COVID-19 cases tracking? March 2, 2026
  • Another way to look at flu season size February 28, 2026
  • Whooping cough in 2024 was huge in Australia, but is declining in 2025 and 2026 February 19, 2026
  • Pathology lab PCR is not research lab PCR January 27, 2026
  • Is there more flu in Australia and New Zealand than normal for Christmas? Hell Yes! December 27, 2025

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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  • Kai Kupferschmidt
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Recent Posts

  • Virus on a boat – a belated graphic
  • There are a lot of people sick….again…in winter….
  • A/H5N1 strain of avian influenza A virus (“bird flu”) confirmed in two dead birds in Australia
  • Well, the day had to come. “Bird flu” flies into Australia on a feathered wing.
  • Looks like Flu has reset in Australia

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.

Bluesky: @mackayim.bsky.social

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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.

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