Qatari camels clear coronavirus

The camel herd that was previously Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MES-CoV) RT-PCR-positive is no longer positive for viral RNA according to an OIE report (OIE=Office International des Epizooties; the world organisation for animal health).In there...

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Influenza A(H7N9) virus case accumulation for 2013...

Click on image to enlarge.Sure a full 12-months of H7N9 in humans hasn't passed yet, but 2013 is coming to a close. I have 148 H7N9 cases worldwide including deaths and the asymptomatic boy from Beijing who seems to still be off the official tallies for some reason. WHO have not had an official...

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What to watch for with human parechovirus (HPeV) infections...

With HPeV infections generally around during summer (see specific earlier story arising from cases in babies from New South Wales), it's well worth mirroring the advice form NSW health on what to look for. The full sources of this information can be visited at the pages listed below.A brief agglomeration of the information... HPeV (closely related to enteroviruses) has been detected in a...

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Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays 2013

Hi All,Just a quick wish from me to you for a Happy Xmas time.If you are lucky enough to have been born into a wealthy country, enjoy your good fortunes and have a very festive and well-fed time with friends and family over the next few days. But please also spare a thought for the many more people...

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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV): camels, camels, camels!

Two studies in Eurosurveillance, an editorial note, A Lancet Infectious diseases report and a comment point 2 hairy toes toward camels as a harbour and source in some capacity, for MERS-CoV, or MERS-CoV-very-like, infections ticking over around the Arabian peninsula. All in the space of a week!First...

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Little rhino...

To the tune of �I�m a little teapot�I�m a little rhino, Strain in doubtBind with my canyonBind withoutWhen I�ve replicatedJust the right amountYou�ll need to get a tissue to blow me out[alternate: exacerbate your wheezing and cough me out]Thanks to Cassandra Faux for putting this one together back in 20...

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Anesthesia Teaching in Kigali - Life as a local medical student on rotation

I walked into an operating room two hours after inducing the patient with a resident. The patient was covered from head to toe in a green sheet and no one was in the room. My first thought was, �oh no, what happened, how did this patient die?� This was not an unreasonable question given the number...

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Anesthesia in Kigali, Rwanda - What is the BIG Difference?

At CHUK, I had the opportunity to work with HRH faculty that have been in the country for a period of time. In speaking to them, their thoughts are that the current medical system doesn�t lack professionals with medical knowledge but the issue is that the system itself and the cultural background that...

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Anesthesia Teaching in Kigali, Rwanda

This is my first trip to Africa. Rwanda has only been this textbook entry that I read about in class during to the horrible genocide 20 years ago. It�s hard to believe that I am actually here. I have been waiting and planning for the trip for the past year and yet I felt completely emotionally unprepared...

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Twelve weeks of childcare...

To the tune of the twelve days of Xmas In the first week of childcare,some kids got sick with meThe lab said they might have HRVIn the second week of childcare,some kids got sick with me, Two had paraflu,and a few might have had an HRVIn the third week of childcare,some kids got sick with me, Three had an enteroTwo had parafluand a few had uncultivable HRVIn the fourth week of childcare,some kids...

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You're the virus I got...

To the tune of Grease/You�re the one that I wantI�ve got chills, they�re multiplyin�, and I�ve got a sore throatHome remedies that I�m tryin�, feels like I�m dyinReally runny nose, now I cough and acheand the doctor says its fluReally runny nose, now it�s in my chestTo my lab I must be true, There�s nothing  left, nothing left for Doc to doChorus:It�s a rhino I�ve got (a tiny little rhinovirus),...

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The Bocavirus...

To the tune of CopacabanaIts name was boca, it was a parvoNo membrane just a shell, a tiny genome n� there as wellIt was found worldwide, but first in SwedenAnd while it might yet be a star, its role remains unclear by far Around a crowded globe, its mode of spread unknownIt was newly found and yet endemicPCR helped show Call it boca, the bocavirusQuite close to a dog and cow virusCall it boca, the...

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FluTrackers needs your help....HELP THEM!!

I've written before about how much we smaller bloggers and interested other parties rely on FluTrackers to be the rock on which we can rely. Have a quick read of that post here.FluTrackers are a bunch of volunteers who self-fund the computer infrastructure that houses and serves us with the carefully agglomerated rantings of a seemingly endless stream of information sources on all manner of infectious...

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