Bacteria are becoming resistant to even the most powerful antibiotics. These expensive, hard-to-treat infections are prompting physicians to reassess using viruses to destroy bacteria.
When you think of viruses, you might think of the horrible illnesses they cause, like flu or Ebola. But now researchers are learning how to use the unique traits of viruses to treat disease.
We’ve had the measles vaccine in Australia since 1968, but a two-dose program was only introduced in 1992. And if you haven’t had the second dose, you’re at risk of contracting measles.
Scientists still rely on a set of 19th century postulates to identify disease-causing organisms but more than 100 years of research shows why we need to move on.
Polio can be circulating through a community long before anyone is paralyzed. Monitoring sewage for the virus lets public health officials short-circuit this ‘silent transmission.’
Just because you don’t have the flu doesn’t mean that your aren’t teeming with viruses inside and out. But what are all these viruses doing, if they aren’t making you sick?
New genetic knowledge about cane toads could give us the knowledge we need to throw some more roadblocks in front of this persistent invader as it marches across Australia.
Frédéric Keck, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
A scientific question fascinates experts : under which conditions can bird flu virus be transmitted to humans by aerial particles, and what will be the consequences for those who aren’t immune?
Many people think green snot means you are really sick, or that you need antibiotics. Not true. Green snot is actually a sign that our immune system is working and that we are getting better.
Feral rabbits previously exposed to myxoma virus are more likely to be killed by rabbit haemorrhagic diease, meaning that these two biocontrol agents can become even more powerful when used in tandem.
Benjamin Cowie, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Nicole Romero, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Hepatitis A is a virus that infects the liver. Symptoms usually take 15-50 days to develop after initial infection and typically last for several weeks or sometimes longer.
The flu vaccine isn’t perfect but it’s the best way to protect against these potentially harmful viruses. Most children aged six months to five years are eligible for a free vaccine in 2018.
Director, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital and Consultant Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital and Monash University, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity