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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 ...

An early look at influenza in the US highlights that the south does not predict the north

Posted onNovember 24, 2019November 24, 20191 Comment

Influenza (flu) hit Australia earlier in 2019 than it had for many years. It reached a very high peak of cases and the flu season lasted for longer than usual. Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsepidemiology, United States of America

Buy a gift with real impact this year

Posted onNovember 19, 2019November 25, 2019

Hi All. This is just a small festive season appeal to you. Please consider spending a few dollars on those in need of our support in the lead-up to the Read More …

CategoriesUncategorized

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

Measles in the Pacific via travel from New Zealand

Posted onOctober 25, 2019October 25, 2019

Below are some of the latest numbers around the epidemic of measles in New Zealand, and the outbreaks in Australia which are currently linked to New Zealand via infected travellers. Read More …

CategoriesMeaslesTagsNew Zealand

Flu B viruses: why not H-something-N-something?

Posted onOctober 1, 2019October 1, 2019

The world of influenza (Flu) is filled with many strange things. One of these is why we label the influenza A (FluA) viruses with an “H” (short for the name Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsFluB, FluC, FLUCV, FLUDV, IFDV, influenza D virus

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

Flu in a ScienceWeek flash 🏃

Posted onSeptember 11, 2019September 17, 2019

I was asked to present a talk for science week 2019. I thought an explanation of the unprecedented 2019 influenza (flu) season (nicknamed flunami) would be a good talk. But Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsEiC

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

#Flunami2019: Australia’s biggest confirmed flu count on record

Posted onSeptember 1, 2019February 28, 20261 Comment

For those who love a good multiple of 1,000, or enjoy drooling over the passing of a historical threshold, yesterday was such a day for influenza (flu) counts in Australia. Read More …

CategoriesUncategorized

Testing out OpenStreetMap stuff

Posted onAugust 20, 2019August 22, 20191 Comment

To bring you and I some better maps and to try and prove that this old dog can still learn new tricks, I’ve had a go at using OpenStreetMap via Read More …

CategoriesEbola virusTagsMaps, OpenStreetMaps

The 2019 Flunami was more than just increased testing

Posted onAugust 15, 2019February 28, 2026

The Flunami (see a definition here before you decide upon your own dear reader) has been a rising tide of influenza cases. It was more than just increased testing, though. Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza, Laboratory methodsTags131K, A/H3N2, Australia, flu season, flunami, H1N1, H1N1pdmo09, H3N2, phylogeny

PHEIC news

Posted onJuly 25, 2019July 25, 2019

Almost a year (51 weeks) since the first 25 cases of fever were reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on July 30 Read More …

CategoriesEbola virusTagsDemocratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, PHEIC

Flu, genes, clades and H3N2

Posted onJuly 9, 2019July 20, 2019

We’ve talked earlier about clades; a term which relates to how we can put influenza (flu) viruses that sit under the broad title, “A/H3N2”, into subgroupings. Clades are a way Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsA/H3N2, alignment, clade, Flu, nucleotide sequencing, seasonal influenza, sequencing

H3N2 in Australia – Australia’s unseasonal flu season rolls on

Posted onJune 28, 2019June 29, 20191 Comment

Australia’s unseasonal flu season is still with us, albeit a little quieter than it was. Some jurisdictions have already had a peak and have returned to almost normal numbers of Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsFluA, H3N2, molecular epidemiology, Recombination, Whole genome sequencing

Which is the inFLUencing hemisphere, north, south or neither?

Posted onJune 20, 2019June 20, 20192 Comments

One of the most common comments I’ve read on Twitter from my northern hemisphere buds these past weeks is – “hey look at those bad influenza (flu) numbers in Australia…that Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsantibody, flu season, H1N1, H3N2, haemagglutinin, next generation sequencing, phylogeny, sequencing

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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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Regular reads…

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  • Kai Kupferschmidt
  • Martin Enserink

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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