Virology
Why Don’t We Have an HIV Vaccine?
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Gertrud Rey
by Gertrud U. Rey This post was written in honor of Virus Appreciation Day, which occurs annually on October 3. Public awareness of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) began in the early 1980s when separate clusters of infected individuals were identified in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. These individuals all shared a group of …
Sloth Fever
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Gertrud Rey
by Gertrud U. Rey Recent news headlines have featured a mysterious and presumably new illness termed “sloth fever.” More aptly named Oropouche fever, the disease is caused by Oropouche virus (OROV), an arthropod-borne virus that is transmitted primarily through the biting midge Culicoides paraensis. OROV typically circulates in sloths, non-human primates, and birds, but it …
Why Does Stress Reactivate Herpes Simplex?
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Gertrud Rey
by Gertrud U. Rey It is well known that stress and exposure to UV radiation can reactivate replication of latent herpes simplex virus type 1 and/or type 2 (HSV-1 and/or HSV-2), and the painful lesions associated with these infections. But why is that? During a primary infection, HSV-1 and HSV-2 replicate within the epithelial cells …
Active vs. Passive Immunity
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Gertrud Rey, Information
by Gertrud U. Rey During the first few months of life, residual maternal antibodies that crossed the placenta during gestation and antibodies from breast milk protect infants from infection with various microbes. This type of immune protection is known as “passive immunity,” and differs from “active immunity,” which develops in an individual following vaccination or …
You Cannot Get Bird Flu From Pasteurized Milk
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Gertrud Rey
by Gertrud U. Rey Multiple recent outbreaks of “bird flu” in U.S. dairies are raising concerns about whether milk from infected cows is safe to drink. H5N1, the strain of influenza virus causing the outbreaks, is typically transmitted among birds but occasionally spreads to non-avian animals, including mammals. Prior to distribution, commercially sold milk is …
Does Herpes Simplex Virus Cause Alzheimer’s Disease?
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Gertrud Rey
by Gertrud U. Rey Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia. Although its exact cause is unclear, an increasing body of evidence suggests that an infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV) may contribute to onset of AD later in life. Both types of HSV (HSV-1 and HSV-2) infect …
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David Tuller
Calls for Retraction of Absurd “Effort Preference” Claims from NIH Study
By David Tuller, DrPH October is a crowdfunding month at University of California, Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, you can make a donation to the university (tax-deductible for US taxpayers) here. In February, the journal Nature Communications published the US National Institutes of Health’s long-awaited paper, “Deep phenotyping of post-infectious myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue …
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Trial By Error: Extensive News Coverage of Exeter Coroner’s “Report to Prevent Future Deaths”
By David Tuller, DrPH October is a crowdfunding month at University of California, Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, you can make a donation to the university (tax-deductible for US taxpayers) here. The case of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, who died in 2021 of malnutrition from severe ME after three hospitalizations failed to halt her …
Trial By Error: Coroner in Boothby O’Neill Inquest Issues Report to Prevent Future Deaths
By David Tuller, DrPH October is a crowdfunding month at University of California, Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, you can make a donation to the university (tax-deductible for US taxpayers) here. ********** For two weeks in late July and early August, His Majesty’s Assistant Coroner Deborah Archer heard testimony regarding the death …
Trial By Error: Interview with Dr Peter Rowe of Johns Hopkins about “Living with Orthostatic Intolerance”
By David Tuller, DrPH Dr Peter Rowe is a professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and director of the Chronic Fatigue Clinic at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. As an expert on orthostatic intolerance, a common component of ME/CFS, Long Covid and related illnesses, he has recently authored “Living Well with …
Trial By Error: Norwegian Tabloid Covers Stupid Gulf War Illness/PEM Study; My Letter to Journal Editor on Bogus Claims
By David Tuller, DrPH Earlier this month, I wrote a post about a new study asserting that “exercise does not cause post-exertional malaise in Veterans with Gulf War Illness.” As I explained, the research, led by experts from the University of Wisconsin and published by the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, made no sense. Although …
Trial By Error: UK Health Care Professionals Appeal to Health Secretary for Quick Action on Poor ME Care
By David Tuller, DrPH Tuesday, September 17th, was World Patient Safety Day. (I didn’t know that either.) In the UK, more than 200 physicians, nurses and other health care providers and professionals marked the occasion by issuing an appeal—in the form of a letter to Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care …