Virology
H5N1 in U.S. Dairy Cattle: An Unprecedented Event in the History of Virology
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Commentary, Fabrício Souza Campos, Information
by Fabrício Souza Campos Fabrício Souza Campos is a virologist and professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil. He coordinates the Graduate Program in Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology and leads research on virus surveillance in wildlife and domestic animals, with a focus on zoonotic threats and One Health. He has …
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A Vaccine Against Dementia
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Commentary, Gertrud Rey, Information
by Gertrud U. Rey The shingles vaccine is highly effective at preventing shingles, a painful rash caused by reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) – the herpes virus that also causes chickenpox. But what if this vaccine also prevented dementia? New data suggest that it just might. The authors of a recent multinational collaborative research study …
Vitamin A, Cod Liver Oil, and Measles
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Commentary, Gertrud Rey, Information
by Gertrud U. Rey The number of measles cases is steadily increasing across the United States, especially in areas with low vaccination rates. Instead of recommending that children be vaccinated with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to promote ideas that are rooted …
West Nile Story
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Commentary, Gertrud Rey, Information
by Gertrud U. Rey On February 7, 2025, the world lost Dickson Despommier, a formidable parasitologist, gifted storyteller, and original co-host of the podcast This Week in Virology. Being a life-long learner, Dickson developed a keen interest in medical ecology, an interdisciplinary field that investigates how our ever-changing environment impacts human health. In his book …
An Extremely Successful Vaccine Story
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Gertrud Rey, Information
by Gertrud U. Rey One of the most noteworthy advances in biomedical science is the vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV). It has significantly changed the diagnostic and prognostic landscape in the field of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally, and it is a particular problem in low-income countries …
Effect of Diabetes and Obesity on Influenza Outcomes
By Gertrud U. Rey | | Basic virology, Gertrud Rey, Information
by Gertrud U. Rey Flu season is in full swing, and hospitalizations related to influenza virus infection are on the rise. During the 2009 “swine flu” pandemic it became evident that diabetes and obesity increase one’s risk for severe influenza disease, a correlation that was also later observed in the context of COVID-19. A series …
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David Tuller
Trial By Error: Dr Rob Wüst on ME/CFS, Long Covid and Deconditioning
By David Tuller. DrPH Proponents of psycho-behavioral interventions for ME/CFS and, more recently, Long Covid, have argued–unconvincingly and with a shortage of actual evidence–that the disabling symptoms can be attributed to the effects of deconditioning. Earlier today, I spoke with Dr Rob Wüst, an expert in muscle physiology and metabolism at Vrije [Free] University Amsterdam. …
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Trial By Error: Canadian GET/CBT Campaigners Publish Propaganda Cosplaying as Research on Twitter Trends
By David Tuller, DrPH McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario, seems to be Canada’s Ground Zero for psychosomatic theorizing. In March, 2021, a psychiatrist-in-training, Jeremy Devine, published an opinion in The Wall Street Journal titled “The Dubious Origins of Long Covid.” (I wrote about it here.) Devine cited the PACE trial favorably, as if its findings …
Trial By Error: More on the BMJ Opinion Piece from the Psychobabblers
By David Tuller, DrPH When it comes to ME and ME/CFS, The BMJ—formerly called The British Medical Journal but now, like the food franchise once known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, officially reduced to a mere acronym—is a long-time champion of the “biopsychosocial” ideological brigades. (I use the “scare quotes” because the term is a misnomer, …
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Trial By Error: BMJ Publishes New Propaganda Piece on Severe ME/CFS
By David Tuller, DrPH Last week, The BMJ published a commissioned propaganda piece—er, “opinion”—written by confirmed members of the cognitive behavior therapy/graded exercise therapy/Lightning Process ideological brigades. The title: “Patients with severe ME/CFS need hope and expert multidisciplinary care.” It repeats all the usual blah blah, along with the unwarranted assertions and evidence-free arguments about …
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Trial By Error: Pushback on “Brief Outpatient Rehab” Trial for Long Covid from Norwegian Ideological Brigades
By David Tuller, DrPH I often find myself responding to crap studies–such as a Norwegian study called “Brief Outpatient Rehabilitation Program for Post–COVID-19 Condition: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” from Nerli et al., published last December by JAMA Network Open. The senior author was Professor Vegard Wyller, the dean of the Norwegian wing of the CBT/GET/Lightning …
Trial By Error: A Letter Seeking a Correction in FMD Physiotherapy Paper
By David Tuller, DrPH I have recently written about a trial of an intervention for functional motor disorder (FMD) that had null results for its primary outcome—physical function as rated by the SF-36. The study–“Specialist Physiotherapy for functional motor disorder in England and Scotland (Physio4FMD): a pragmatic, multicentre, phase 3 randomised controlled trial,” published by …
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