Influenza H5N1 virus frightens many because of the widely quoted case fatality ratio of >50%, which is based on the number of deaths among the fewer than 600 cases confirmed by the World Health Organization. Such fear is misguided, because it is likely that the fatality ratio is far lower. ...

On episode #178 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiValians meet up with Tyler Sharp for a discussion on the Epidemic Intelligence Service and controlling dengue. You can find TWiV #178 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.

On episode #169 of This Week in Virology we had a good discussion about how to read a scientific paper. Many individuals have asked about making this into a separate audio file, so here it is. Click the arrow above to play, or right-click this link to download our thoughts on ...

On episode #30 of the science show This Week in Microbiology, Vincent, Elio, and Michael review how a toxin from Burkholderia pseudomallei inhibits protein synthesis, and the role of the gut microbiome in modulating insulin resistance in mice lacking an innate immune sensor. You can find TWiM #30 at microbeworld.org/twim.

This past February I was interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Company on the topic of the Fouchier and Kawaoka experiments on avian influenza virus H5N1. The video, Building the Perfect Bug, has been released by Journeyman Pictures and includes interviews with S.T. Lai, Laurie Garrett, Michael Osterholm, and Ron Fouchier (transcript ...