A network of ~150 laboratories in the United States participate in virological surveillance for influenza. The results of these analyses are publicly available, and provide extremely interesting characterization of the pandemic spread of the new H1N1 strain. During week 22, 6,664 samples were submitted for testing, of which 2,681 were positive for influenza virus. Of …
WHO reports that as of 15 June 2009, 76 countries have officially reported 35, 928 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 163 deaths. These numbers can be used to calculate a case fatality ratio (CFR) of 0.45%. Is this number an accurate indication of the lethality of influenza? Determining how many people die from influenza …
On episode #36 of the podcast “This Week in Virology”, Vincent, Alan, Dick, and Hamish Young discuss the 2009 influenza pandemic, first 2009 H1N1 vaccine, hunting mosquitoes with midges, vaccine-associated polio in India, and adenoviruses. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV036.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #36 or subscribe in iTunes or byemail.
Host defense mechanisms are imperfect because the genomes of every known virus encodes proteins that can block nearly every step of the immune response. For every host defense, there is a viral offense. Let’s consider the different ways that viruses are known to evade the early, or innate, host defenses. The illustration depicts in a …
The World Health Organization has declared that the world is now at the start of an influenza pandemic. WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said today: I have conferred with leading influenza experts, virologists, and public health officials. In line with procedures set out in the International Health Regulations, I have sought guidance and advice from …
Scientists and philosophers have long debated the trajectory of evolution. Some of the questions they consider include: is there a predictable direction for evolution, and if there is, what is the pathway? Are there evolutionary dead ends? Viruses are excellent subjects for the study of evolution: they have short generation times, high yields of offspring, …
