When I am asked to name the most lethal human virus, I never hesitate to name rabies virus. Infection with this virus is almost invariably fatal; just three unvaccinated individuals have been known to survive. New evidence from humans in the Peruvian Amazon suggests that the virus might be less ...

On episode #196 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiVites meet with Mark Stenglein and Joseph DeRisi to discuss their discovery of a novel arenavirus in snakes with inclusion body disease. You can find TWiV #196 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.

If you know anything about snakes you might be familiar with snake inclusion body disease, or IBD. This transmissible and fatal disease affects snakes of a variety of species but has been best studied in boas. The name comes from the presence of large masses (inclusions) in the cytoplasm of ...

On episode #195 of the science show This Week in Virology, the complete TWiV team meets with Ken Stedman to discuss the discovery in Boiling Spring Lake of a DNA virus with the capsid of an RNA virus. You can find TWiV #195 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.

When I drafted my article for TakePart (Don't Panic - Ebola Isn't Heading For You), I used the term 'ebolavirus' throughout, but the editors changed every instance to 'Ebola virus'. Understanding which term is correct is far more complicated than you might imagine. A new virus was first isolated in ...