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 …
Tag: influenza
SunFluwer…
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 …
Influenza seasons are unpredictable: deal with it
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 …
Only effective vaccines can protect us from respiratory viruses because we’re us
As winter wraps up in Australia, it’s become quite clear that – barring a very unusual late burst of activity – the 2018 influenza (flu) season has passed Australia by with Read More …
Flu is giving Australia a breather….
August is the traditional Australian peak influenza (flu) month. The peak can move around a bit but it usually flu virus party time, followed in size by September. We’re two-thirds of Read More …
Influenza vaccines do have an effect and we need to do more to understand it
Sometimes it’s hard to convey complex issues in a short-form article written for a general public audience. Other times, stories start off with an overly-simplified title they never recover from. Occasionally they lack any Read More …
Queensland influenza keeping it cool….
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 …
Reporting flu – tell the story don’t create fear…
“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 …
Is increased testing at the root of Australia’s biggest ever first quarter of Flu cases…?
I’ve seen some media reporting an “early start to the flu season”. Is this true? The short answer is – I don’t know. Let’s explore why I can’t answer my Read More …
Flu vaccines and children: coming free to most Australian States and Territories in 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 …
Flu numbers from the US…Peaky McPeakFace
This year’s annual influenza (flu) H3N2 epidemic in the United States (US) has peaked. It’s been a big season in the US and the United Kingdom and in Canada, as it was Read More …
Flu may not be peaking even if it looks like it is right now…and here’s why
The United State’s (US) influenza (Flu) season looks like it has peaked according to the latest Flu report.[1] And perhaps it has. But the graphs are only as solid as Read More …
Influenza type B viruses passes the baton to type A viruses in China…
What starts out as an influenza (Flu) A/H3N2 season may end up being a Flu B/Yamagata season. Or vice versa. Or with different players altogether. Flu is tricksy. We see Read More …
Second human influenza A/H7N9 case for 2017/8 season…
It’s been a very slow start to the H7N9 season (=spillovers from infected poultry to susceptible humans) in China. Why it’s been so slow is unclear. The Hong Kong (HK) Centre for Read More …
Aussie Flu, UK Flu – who cares? Get vaccinated.
Some thoughts from Dr Katherine Arden and myself about where the flu viruses sweeping the UK came from. Is it the “Aussie flu”? The short answer is simply “No”. There Read More …