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 …

What does a positive PCR result mean…or not mean?

Posted onFebruary 19, 2019August 4, 20207 Comments

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has remained a hugely important laboratory tool for decades. Subtle changes to the enzymes and drastic changes to the detection of a result have occurred Read More …

Starting a riot

Posted onFebruary 17, 2019March 1, 20191 Comment

Among last year’s many stories about influenza (Flu) deaths during the 1918 pandemic, we often heard about the secondary impact of bacteria; they complicate Flu virus infections, causing pneumonia and Read More …

Invincible: viruses are always out there, take EV-D68 for example

Posted onFebruary 15, 2019February 16, 20191 Comment

Enterovirus species D genotype 68 (EV-D68) will be back in our media streams in 2020 as the biennial peak likely returns to cause more cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) Read More …

Familia figures

Posted onFebruary 12, 2019February 16, 2019

Science communication can come in many shapes and sizes. But a picture still tells a thousand words. And in this case, there are about 6,000 words worth of mosquito communication Read More …

Way up…

Posted onFebruary 9, 2019February 10, 20192 Comments

Australia has had a big summer of flu with numbers way up from what we’re used to. As my recent posts here and here flagged, it’s hard to know whether Read More …

SunFluwer…

Posted onJanuary 21, 2019January 22, 2019

Just for fun, I thought I’d check in on Australia’s influenza tally again. I posted my last tally 3 days ago (Jan 18) and upon looking today (Jan 21), it’s Read More …

What’s up d̵a̵n̵g̵e̵r̵ Flu?

Posted onJanuary 18, 2019January 22, 20192 Comments

Influenza is still hammering Australia with unseasonable disrespect. Is this just more testing for flu viruses, or is it a new variant virus? January in Australia is continuing 2018’s out-of-character Read More …

Flu keeps Australia under the weather

Posted onJanuary 11, 2019January 11, 2019

Influenza has been unseasonably hyperactive during Australia’s hotter and wetter months at the end of 2018 and the start of 2019. In what’s shaping up to be our biggest summer Read More …

Ebola virus disease (EVD) update: to 01JAN2019

Posted onJanuary 3, 2019January 3, 2019

This is a brief Ebola virus disease (EVD) update of the latest number of people infected with, vaccinated against disease due to and killed as a result of, Ebola virus Read More …

MERS-CoV infection without disease: When the coalmine has no canary

Posted onJanuary 2, 2019January 11, 2019

Infection by viruses including the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) does not always result in obvious sickness. MERS-CoV infection without disease may simply reflect that a healthy human’s immune Read More …

No, it isn’t time to cede the field to endemic Ebola virus disease in the DRC

Posted onNovember 21, 2018November 22, 20181 Comment

A few weeks ago, the Director of the CDC made comments to the mainstream media raising the spectre of endemic Ebola virus disease, or an ongoing, permanent infection in the Read More …

It’s spooky how much the virus linked to “polio-like illness” isn’t coming from immigrants

Posted onOctober 31, 2018March 26, 202210 Comments

It’s important to read. Reading is a great way to learn about new things and other people and cultures. It can also help prevent you from opening your mouth and Read More …

Flushing virus surveillance in Ecuador….

Posted onOctober 17, 2018

Tracking viruses in a community can mean testing lots and lots of people. That can be expensive, require a lot of permissions, approvals, a big and capable laboratory capacity and Read More …

Life after PhD in the medical research hamster wheel…

Posted onOctober 15, 2018

I got to meet up with some colleagues from my past research life recently. A few different but related things struck me as interesting. These thoughts are filtered through the 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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