There is an ongoing outbreak of enterovirus 71 (EV71) in a broad region of Asia, including China, Vietnam, Mongolia, Taiwan, and Singapore. There have been 3606 cases in China, including 36 deaths. Infection with EV71 is common in Asia, where it causes hand-foot-and-mouth disease in children, a febrile syndrome accompanied by flat or raised red …
Here is another question from one of the students in my recent vaccine lecture at Columbia University: “I wanted to ask you a quick question about the Pox Virus. In class, you explained how the live vaccine can lead to the spread of the virus through the urine/feces of vaccinated individuals. When this happens, are …
Here is a question from one of the students in my recent vaccine lecture at Columbia University: “Isn’t OPV one of the cheapest and easiest to administer? What exactly are the benefits of stopping? Avoiding an isolated case of the disease caused by the administration of the vaccine? It seems like a statistical price that …
Today I lectured on poliovirus vaccines in the Cellular & Molecular Immunology course taught by an old friend, Mosh, at the Morningside campus. I promised the students a pdf copy of the lecture notes. Click here to download the 2.6 MB file. I very much enjoy teaching virology, but when the audience is engaged, it …
This is not virology, but it is nonetheless fascinating. Archaeologists have found fossilized human feces in a cave in Oregon. The fossils, called coprolites, are just over 14,000 years old. In addition, DNA analysis indicates that they contain human DNA, and furthermore indicate origins from Siberia and East Asia. This discovery is consistent with the …
From the February 29 2008 issue of Science comes yet another article on the H5N1 strain of influenza virus. This is the strain that is quite virulent in birds, and which has infected some humans, causing concerns about an imminent pandemic. Not all scientists believed the bird flu hype. As I wrote previously, Peter Palese, …
