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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.

Tag: Australia

COVID-19 in Australia

Posted onMarch 9, 2020March 9, 202011 Comments

As the cases begin to build up – but are still pretty low with limited community spread having been detected – now is a good time to start watching where Read More …

CategoriesCoronavirus, COVID-19, Pandemic, SARS-CoV-2TagsAustralia, epidemiology

The 2019 Flunami was more than just increased testing

Posted onAugust 15, 2019August 16, 2019

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

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 …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsAustralia, influenza, seasonal influenza, summer

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 …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsAustralia, influenza virus, Queensland, seasonal influenza, summer

Influenza seasons are unpredictable: deal with it

Posted onOctober 11, 2018October 12, 2018

Mainstream Australian media are reporting that influenza cases in Australia have dropped by 83 per cent. Doctors have also said this is the result of science, guesswork and “a bit Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsAustralia, influenza, seasonal influenza, vaccine, vaccine effectiveness

Queensland influenza keeping it cool….

Posted onJuly 20, 2018July 20, 2018

This week’s influenza (flu) data from Queensland’s Department of Health suggest that the virus is toying with Queenslanders – and much of Australia – this season. The total number of Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsAustralia, Flu, flu season, influenza, Queensland, Queensland Health

Reporting flu – tell the story don’t create fear…

Posted onJune 23, 2018April 11, 20195 Comments

“Flu cases jump by 256% in just five years” screams a newspaper headline from the Daily Mercury, a paywalled News Corp publication. It sure seems like scary stuff doesn’t it? Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsalarmist, Australia, headlines, influenza, media, seasonal influe

Human T-Lymphotropic Virus type 1 (HTLV-1): a primer

Posted onMay 17, 2018June 11, 2018

What is HTLV-1? HTLV-1 is a human delta retrovirus assigned to the genus Deltaretrovirus, species Primate T-lymphotropic virus 1 [5]. It was first described in 1980.[10] Soon thereafter Japanese researchers identified endemic virus, Read More …

CategoriesHTLVTagsAustralia, HTLV, HTLV-1c, overview

HTLV-1 primers: a list of some that have been published in the scientific literature

Posted onMay 1, 2018March 15, 2019

In recent weeks there has been a surge in media interest about a virus called human T-lymphotropic virus I (HTLV-1) that is present among the Indigenous Australians living in communities Read More …

CategoriesHTLV, PCRTagsAustralia, diagnostics, HTLV, HTLV-1c, qPCR, real-time PCR, viral load

HTLV-I is not new to Australia but a proper strategic response to it would be

Posted onMay 1, 2018March 15, 20191 Comment

Recent news stories from the Gaurdian and elsewhere have highlighted the serious issue of Aboriginal Australians living in Central Australia (the generalised region, not a State or Territory of Australia) Read More …

CategoriesHTLVTagsAustralia, history, HTLV, HTLV-1c, retrovirus

Flu vaccines and children: coming free to most Australian States and Territories in 2018

Posted onMarch 4, 2018May 29, 2018

UPDATE #2. Back in October 2017, Queensland Health, Queensland Government (Australia) held a summit following on from our horrendous year of influenza.[1] One of the announcements associated with that summit Read More …

CategoriesInfluenzaTagsAustralia, influenza, seasonal influenza, vaccination

Flu is a slippery virus, a tough vaccine target and a challenge to contain…

Posted onNovember 5, 2017February 18, 20253 Comments

Much was made of a regrettable interview earlier in the week about the Australian equivalent Flu vaccine. Some of the headlines included… Ouch. Prof. Paul Van Buynder was quoted as Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza, Vaccines & vaccinationTagsAustralia, epidemic, Flu, quadrivalent vaccine, vaccine

A look at public reporting of Flu in Australia…

Posted onSeptember 23, 2017July 15, 20234 Comments

I’ve spent a bit more time on Flu reports this year than in past years, so I thought I might compare the data that the public can see. There are Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsAustralia, epidemiology, Flu, flu season, public data, public health, reporting

Flu is bad…in many ways…

Posted onSeptember 20, 2017October 15, 2017

A Mum  gives birth to a baby but she is too ill with influenza to know it.[1] As we read another tragic story of the severe impact from disease (in Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsAustralia, epidemiology, flu season, H3N2, influenza virus, mutation, Queensland, reporting

Flu-associated deaths in Victoria…

Posted onSeptember 1, 2017October 30, 20172 Comments

I’m not joking around when I say vaccines have been created to reduce the worst of the diseases caused by some infectious nasties. We all know about the success of Read More …

CategoriesUncategorizedTagsAustralia, flu season, H3N2, hMPV, influenza, Long term care facility, LTCF, Victoria

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Recent Posts

  • What if Harvard loses?
  • Measles takes your immune memories
  • A measles infographic: virus, symptoms and white blood cells
  • United States influenza: biggest season in 15 years of data
  • No new A/H7N8 chook farms hit in Victoria so far

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.

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