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

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

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

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 ...

SNAPDATE: Flu in Australia to 15th April 2019

Posted onApril 15, 2019May 18, 2019

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, 2019December 30, 2019

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, 2019

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, 20198 Comments

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, 20191 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, 2019

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, 2019

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 …

Elevate the Flu baseline

Posted onMarch 5, 2019June 11, 2019

Summer has technically ended in Australia (sure – go look at a temperature prediction!) and Flu spent all of it being abnormally active. The 2018 Flu season peaked in September Read More …

Scared of the Dark risks

Posted onMarch 2, 2019March 3, 20192 Comments

Gain-of-function research of concern (GOFROC) virus research has returned to the news.[1] With it come fears of dark risks; we will either die from influenza without this research or die Read More …

Will violence Let Go of the DRC long enough to kick out Ebola virus?

Posted onFebruary 28, 2019March 4, 2019

The 2018/19 outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was showing some promising signs of control earlier this week. Then the latest attacks Read More …

Flu vaccines can Save The Day

Posted onFebruary 26, 2019March 1, 2019

There is a strong relationship between heart failure and respiratory illness due to infection.[1] It makes good sense that if a safe way to prevent infection from developing into illness Read More …

Memories

Posted onFebruary 25, 2019July 1, 2025

Dug these up from the old blog after a chat with a collaborator who recalled one of them fondly. I regret nothing!!! IMPORTED POSTS* You’re the virus I got… To Read More …

Hide: it’s easy when no-one’s looking

Posted onFebruary 25, 2019February 25, 2019

Saffold cardiovirus (SAFV) was first described in 2007,[from a 1981 human sample; 10] and since then has been found to consist of 11 genotypes (SAFV-1 to SAFV-11; [13] ) of 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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