by Gertrud U. Rey Herd immunity occurs when a large enough percentage of the population has acquired either natural or vaccine-induced immunity against an infectious disease, thereby indirectly protecting a minority of non-immune individuals who are dispersed throughout the population. During this pandemic, many prominent scientists have stated that it is impossible to achieve herd …
This post describes the case of a woman who appears to have been naturally cured of her HIV infection.
by Gertrud U. Rey There are currently 315 therapeutic drugs and 210 vaccine candidates in development to treat or prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. Many of these vaccines are designed to be administered by injection into the muscle. Intramuscular injection of a vaccine antigen typically induces a systemic (serum) immune response that involves the action of IgM and IgG …
Did you ever wonder what different virus infections you have had in your lifetime? Now you can find out with just a drop of your blood and about $25. Immune defense systems of many hosts produce antibodies in response to virus infections. These large proteins, which are generally virus specific, can block or inhibit virus infection, and …
The time before the symptoms of a viral infection appear is called the incubation period. During this time, viral genomes are replicating and the host is responding, producing cytokines such as interferon that can have global effects, leading to the classical symptoms of an acute infection (e.g., fever, malaise, aches, pains, and nausea). These symptoms are called the …
Back in 1974, before it was possible to determine the sequence of a viral genome, before we knew much about the origin of viruses and their ability to move genes from organism to organism, Lewis Thomas wrote the following incredibly prescient words in The Lives of a Cell: The viruses, instead of being single-minded agents of disease …
