Every flu season is a soup of viruses

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 ...

Portrait of uncontrolled Ebola

The latest Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak has been a slow burn in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the first official report in July 2018. With the wonderful Read More ...

An influenza virus is the sum of its parts

The influenza viruses are a bit different from other viruses that infect and affect our respiratory tract. Their genetic material – the stuff that acts as the blueprint to make Read More ...

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 …

SNAPDATE: Flu in Australia to 15th April 2019

Posted onApril 15, 2019May 18, 2019Leave a comment

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 …

Aluminium and you

Posted onApril 12, 2019April 12, 2019Leave a comment

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 …

Measles hot spots all over Australia

Posted onApril 5, 2019April 9, 2019Leave a comment

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 …

But 40,000+ cases of AFP in India must mean polio is thriving, right? No.

Posted onMarch 28, 2019April 20, 2019Leave a comment

Have you heard the one about the global conspiracy that polio is rampant in India because thousands of cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) occur there each year? Follow me Read More …

No, they didn’t rename polio

Posted onMarch 20, 2019March 21, 2019Leave a comment

Have you heard the one about all the world’s health experts getting together and hiding the real state of human polio cases by renaming “polio” to “acute flaccid paralysis” (AFP)? Read More …

Galloping Gish! So many papers, so little relevance

Posted onMarch 16, 2019March 17, 20191 Comment

Have you been privileged to interact with that fine, tiny but very loud cabal we call #antivaxxers? Do you know the ones? Those who have minds totally made up. They Read More …

They are us

Posted onMarch 16, 2019March 17, 2019Leave a comment

Kia Kaha New Zealand. Stay Strong. The use of hate and fear only creates more hate and fear. And it creates anger and loss. Tragic loss. Some articles online that Read More …

VDU has been in the Spider-Verse this whole time

Posted onMarch 11, 2019March 11, 20191 Comment

13 posts. Nearly 3 months of blogging about viruses. 1 central theme. The musical wall-crawling Spider-Verse. Most of my posts this year (2019) have been chosen not by the desire Read More …

Home. It’s where the viruses spread.

Posted onMarch 10, 2019March 11, 2019Leave a comment

Some see a mild illness, or no obvious illness at all, after infection by Ebola virus as almost heretical. But new evidence adds to that which already exists – it Read More …

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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