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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 ...

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

H7N9 numbers….no-one agrees…

Posted onFebruary 24, 2017January 31, 2025

#H7N9 number mess. @WHO 22FEB:1223 FAO 22FEB: 1230 CHP 21FEB: 1227 FT: 967+ #VirolDU: no bloody idea Yeeeeup. *Old link – deleted when my account was deleted: https://twitter.com/MackayIM/status/834888299747520512 *Imported Post

CategoriesH7N9, InfluenzaTagsavian influenza, epidemiology

H7N9 virus in humans in China: just how big is this?

Posted onFebruary 22, 2017July 12, 2019

…I don’t really know, but a lot bigger than I thought when I was tinkering with the numbers for the last post (which has since been updated by the way).  As Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsChina, H7N9

Science needs to talk more but I know many scientists who don’t…

Posted onFebruary 10, 2017July 20, 2019

A comment I replied to on LinkedIn which I thought was worth expanding on here – a rare moment of clarity pre-coffee. Scientists don’t engage the community while wearing their scientist hat Read More …

CategoriesCommunicationTagsSciComm

Happy Festive Season to all who read this….

Posted onDecember 18, 2016July 13, 2019

..whatever your shape, colour, gender, sex, size, beliefs, weight or disposition, I wish you a happy festive season. May 2017 be a better year for those of us who wish Read More …

CategoriesEditorial

Korea contamination: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in the room..

Posted onSeptember 2, 2016May 17, 2025

Remember that MERS-CoV outbreak in South Korea in May 2015?  It was the biggest outbreak of MERS-CoV to occur outside the Arabian peninsula, killing 20% of those known to be Read More …

CategoriesUncategorized

Human parechovirus (HPeV) may be spread with the help of well kids…

Posted onFebruary 16, 2016July 17, 2022

The first human parechoviruses (HPeVs) were initially called Human echovirus 22 (HPeV-1) and Human echovirus 23 (HPeV-2).[11,12] These guys were discovered in the summer of 1956, but they weren’t officially Read More …

CategoriesParechovirus

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV)

Posted onJanuary 26, 2016January 25, 2026

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) was first described by van den Hoogen et al in 2001.[1] It had been isolated from young children with respiratory tract disease, and studies of old serum samples found that Read More …

CategoriesMPVTagsintroduction, overview, Summary

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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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