For week 48 in the United States (25 November – 1 December), influenza activity increased. Of 5,511 specimens submitted, 1,139 (20.7%) were positive for influenza. Of these, 854 (75%) were influenza A and 285 (25%) were influenza B. Of the influenza A virus positive specimens, 4 were H1N1 (2009) and 406 contained the H3 HA. The …
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report summarizes a mumps outbreak that occurred in 2011 on a university campus in California: On September 29, 2011, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) three cases of mumps among students recently evaluated at their university’s student health services with symptoms suggestive of mumps. …
I am always looking for microbe-themed art; I keep a list of my findings at Microbe Art. I’ve just discovered a new artist: Jane Hartman of Trilobite Glassworks. From her website: Trilobite Glassworks features stained glass and fused glass decorative as well as functional pieces all designed and made by me. I use both traditional …
December 2-8 is National Influenza Vaccination Week. It was established in 2005 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to highlight the importance of continuing immunization throughout the holiday season. This year the push to immunize against flu comes as the disease has begun to increase substantially throughout the United States, as shown in the …
I was scheduled to deliver a lecture on picornaviruses to a virology class at Yale University this week, but had to cancel at the last minute. I prepared this screencast to make up for my absence. The Picornaviridae is a family of non-enveloped, positive-strand RNA viruses which contains some well known viruses including poliovirus, rhinovirus, …
In August this year I received the following note from Michele Hardy, Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Montana State University: I’m writing to ask if you’d be willing to participate in my undergraduate/graduate virology course this fall. We have several guests per semester that we Skype in to talk with students. I …
