The conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was created in a laboratory has been widely reported, yet there is no evidence to support it. Why such theories thrive can easily be explained, however.
Antimicrobial resistance is a public health and economic disaster waiting to happen. If we do not address this threat, by 2050 more people will die from drug-resistant infections than from cancer.
Since the pandemic began, the new coronavirus has infected more than 780,000 people and killed at least 37,000. The experts at The Conversation offer its readers insights from every continent.
Nevan Krogan, University of California, San Francisco
Among the more than 20,000 drugs approved by the FDA, there may be some that can treat COVID-19. A team at the University of California, San Francisco, is identifying possible candidates.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic is undergoing extensive genetic analysis around the world to understand its origin and evolution.
Currently, the number of confirmed global COVID-19 cases is doubling about every six days. At this rate, Australia’s health sector will be unable to cope.
Viruses are small enough to pass through filters, including face masks. Disabling viruses with electrically charged gases could be a better way to curb airborne transmission.
There’s no evidence you can spread the Wuhan coronavirus before showing symptoms, but one study suggests it’s possible for children and young people to be infectious without ever having symptoms.
Four people in Australia have tested positive to the Wuhan coronavirus so far. So how does it spread, who is most at risk, and what is Australia doing to reduce transmission?
The flu vaccine is built on the strains expected to circulate in a given year. While the majority of strains circulating this year are matched in the vaccine, there’s one strain we didn’t predict.
Sheena G. Sullivan, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza and Rob Moss, The University of Melbourne
The 2018 flu season was mild, while 2017 was a particularly bad year. It’s impossible to predict what the 2019 flu season has in store, but we’ve seen more cases so far this year than usual.
Ian Barr, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
Protection wanes after four or five months, so for most people, it makes sense to get a flu shot in mid to late May or early June so you’re protected when the flu season peaks in August or September.
Australia’s college of obstetricians has warned pregnant women against kissing their toddlers on the mouth or sharing food because of the risk of cytomegalovirus (CMV). But is this advice useful?
It doesn’t just seem like the world is experiencing more viral infections than before – it’s a reality. And the way humans live today helps viruses thrive.
Associate Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Affiliate Associate Professor of Genome Sciences and Microbiology, University of Washington