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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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Age and COVID-19: What’s with all the young kids?

Age and COVID-19: What’s with all the young kids?

Inspired by an online conversation and the hard work of others, I set off to examine age groupings among Australians confirmed as COVID-19 cases, based on testing using a quality-laboratory Read More ...

Another way to look at flu season size

Another way to look at flu season size

Peak height, number of cases, deaths, severity – these are all terms that are used to give you an idea of how big a flu season has been. Here’s another Read More ...

The “Infection Pause”: because it’s about fewer infections, not an immune debt to repay

The “Infection Pause”: because it’s about fewer infections, not an immune debt to repay

There was a real, measurable shift in the peak season for several endemic human pathogens as well as a rebound in infections, coinfections, and disease severity among them after the Read More ...

Asymptomatic, acute and persistent COVID-19 symptom changes over the course of three infections

Asymptomatic, acute and persistent COVID-19 symptom changes over the course of three infections

Data from a UK healthcare worker cohort published in 2024 examined how signs and symptoms of COVID-19 changed after 1, 2, or 3 SARS-CoV-2 lab-confirmed infections. Those with no symptoms Read More ...

The found113….

Posted onSeptember 10, 2017

Back in May of 2016 I received a surprise set of deidentified Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) data. It was a list of the “found113”. This is a very delayed Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsepidemic, epidemiology, found113, MERS, public data

MERS snapdate…

Posted onSeptember 5, 2017September 5, 2017

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsMERS, MERS-CoV, snapdate

MERS & the Hajj – watch out for the Flu!

Posted onSeptember 5, 2017July 1, 2025

The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus (CoV) has now been known of for 6 consecutive Hajj mass gatherings (see the bar graphs). To date, there has not been a Read More …

CategoriesCoronavirus, Influenza, Mass gathering, MERS-CoV, Rhinovirus, Transmission

Talking Flu to a wider audience: some measures of impact

Posted onSeptember 2, 2017June 6, 2018

We keyboard warriors love to talk into our echo chambers, shill our bigPharma ideas to pay the rent on our Bell 429WLG and generally hear ourselves think out loud. So Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagscommunity engagement, flu season, influenza, influenza virus, metrics, quantitation, science communication, social media, SoMe

Flu outbreak and concurrent deaths in Tasmania…

Posted onSeptember 2, 2017September 6, 20174 Comments

Okay I don’t want to follow up the last post with another to try and paint a picture that the sky is falling.  Influenza (Flu) can kill. That’s my point. Read More …

CategoriesUncategorized

Flu-associated deaths in Victoria…

Posted onSeptember 1, 2017October 30, 20172 Comments

I’m not joking around when I say vaccines have been created to reduce the worst of the diseases caused by some infectious nasties. We all know about the success of Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsAustralia, flu season, H3N2, hMPV, influenza, Long term care facility, LTCF, Victoria

VDU is moving house…..no Utes required

Posted onAugust 23, 2017January 25, 2026

Virology Down Under has lived over on Google’s Blogger platform since its first post back in March 2013. After much umm’ing and ahh’ing, I’ve taken the plunge and moved VDU Read More …

CategoriesEditorialTagsEditor's Note, VDU

This little MERS-CoV infected piggy had RNA, but that little piggy with indirect contact had none…

Posted onAugust 16, 2017July 17, 20221 Comment

Back in April, a Spanish/Dutch collaborative study came out looking at whether pigs deliberately infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) might be able to transmit that virus to Read More …

CategoriesMERS-CoV, TransmissionTagsMERS-CoV, pig, transmission

900 words on some general stuff about viruses and those other bugs…

Posted onJuly 15, 2017July 12, 2019

We (Dr @kat_arden and I) were invited to contribute one part to a four-part series in The Conversation this week – and after a lot of no…yes/no/yes from yours truly (I do that Read More …

CategoriesCommunicationTagsSciComm, science communication, Viruses

Ebola virus disease over in the DRC….

Posted onJuly 9, 2017January 25, 2026

Another year, another outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) overcome in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the help of a mix of expert local skill and knowledge, isolation Read More …

CategoriesEbola virusTagsDemocratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, Ebola virus disease

Ebola virus disease over in the DRC….

Posted onJuly 9, 2017August 30, 2017

Another year, another outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) overcome in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the help of a mix of expert local skill and knowledge, isolation Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsDemocratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, Ebola virus, Ebola virus disease

Editor’s Note #27: Anakin Fencewalker joins the Force…

Posted onJuly 2, 2017January 25, 2026

After 19 years, our furry family member had to leave us this Wednesday. His quality of life was decreasing, and he had stopped eating – he made the call, and Read More …

CategoriesEditorialTagsAnakinFencewalker, Editor's Note

Another canary in the same coalmine – mild MERS may be bad news…

Posted onJune 24, 2017January 25, 2026

Sometimes, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is detected in a person who is not ill.  Weird huh?  Not really. This is the result of laboratory testing of contacts Read More …

CategoriesMERS-CoV, NosocomialTagsasymptomatic, MERS, MERS-CoV

Working for health can make you sick….

Posted onJune 20, 2017January 26, 2026

Below is a quick look at the percentage of total Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases reported each week that are listed as being healthcare workers (HCWs). The sources of Read More …

CategoriesHealthcare worker, MERS-CoVTagsepidemiology, health care outreak, Healthcare workers, MERS, MERS-CoV

Climate and science denial….

Posted onJune 18, 2017July 12, 2019

I’m in a reading-and-watching phase at the moment – not much time for writing. Two videos I recently came across are so good that I’ve embedded them below; they are Read More …

CategoriesCommunicationTagsClimate change, SciComm, Science denial, TWADAL

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Recent Posts

  • 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
  • Catch them all? There are three different influenza viruses and they can co-circulate each season August 22, 2025
  • The “Infection Pause”: because it’s about fewer infections, not an immune debt to repay July 31, 2025
  • A Flunami in July July 27, 2025
  • COVID-19 is a Pandemic: What if it was a Pandemic Emergency? And what are they anyway? July 24, 2025
  • In Australia, COVID-19 deaths did decrease between 2023 and 2024, but it’s still a major killer. July 2, 2025
  • Flu down under is a July thing June 16, 2025
  • Q fever – an old zoonosis with a better diagnosis June 9, 2025
  • What if Harvard loses? April 19, 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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Regular reads…

  • FluTrackers-everything infectious, before it happens
  • Mike Coston’s Avian Flu Diary
  • ProMED mail
  • WHO Disease Outbreak News
  • HealthMap
  • STAT News
  • CIDRAP-timely infectious disease reporting
  • Kai Kupferschmidt
  • Martin Enserink

Recent Posts

  • Age and COVID-19: What’s with all the young kids?
  • Asymptomatic, acute and persistent COVID-19 symptom changes over the course of three infections
  • How are asymptomatic COVID-19 cases tracking?
  • Another way to look at flu season size
  • Whooping cough in 2024 was huge in Australia, but is declining in 2025 and 2026

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

Threads: @mackayim.2024

Mastodon: @mackayim2022@mastodon.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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