This discussion of West Nile virus was recorded at the headquarters of the American Society for Microbiology during a “Microbes After Hours” event on May 6, 2013. The speakers are Dr. Lyle Petersen Lyle R. Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases at CDC, and Dr. Roberta DeBiasi, MD, FIDSA, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at George …
I joined Buddhini Samarasinghe, Scott Lewis, Tommy Leung, and William McEwan for a discussion of the avian influenza H5N1 virus transmission experiments done in ferrets.
Those of you with an interest in virology, or perhaps simply sensationalism, have probably seen the recent headlines proclaiming another laboratory-made killer influenza virus. From The Independent: ‘Appalling irresponsibility: Senior scientists attack Chinese researchers for creating new strains of influenza virus’; and from InSing.com: ‘Made-in-China killer flu virus’. It’s unfortunate that the comments of several …
Influenza H5N1 x H1N1 reassortants: ignore the headlines, it’s good science Read More »
I joined Buddhini Samarasinghe and Scott Lewis on a Science Sunday Hangout on Air to talk about my career in virology: how I came to be interested in viruses, and what goes on in my laboratory. You can find hangouts and more at the ScienceSunday community.
Results of a study of four patients in Zhejiang, China, who developed influenza H7N9 virus infection suggests sporadic poultry-to-human transmission: We diagnosed avian influenza A H7N9 in all four patients (who were epidemiologically unlinked), two of whom died and two of whom were recovering at the time of writing. All patients had histories of occupational …
Human infections with avian influenza H7N9 virus from wet market poultry Read More »
Virologist Hilary Koprowski died on 11 April 2013 at the age of 96. His main accomplishments are nicely summarized in the New York Times, but for a more comprehensive overview of his life, I highly recommend his biography Listen to the Music by Roger Vaughan. I did not have many opportunities to interact with Dr. Koprowski, but I …
