Some Thoughts about the New Coronavirus Syndrome and its Transmission

First and upfront, let’s call this virus WARS*, which stands for Wuhan Associated Respiratory Syndrome.  President Xi Jingping called for a war against the new virus, and a war it is.  Therefore our acronym makes intuitive sense.  The naming of Continue reading Some Thoughts about the New Coronavirus Syndrome and its Transmission

Learning from Set-Backs: The Frustrating Search for a Staphylococcal Vaccine

Several reasons have been proposed as explanations why so many S. aureus vaccines have failed in clinical trials.  Clearly, the organism has a battery of virulence factors which may require a multipronged approach and neutralizing just a single mechanism with a specific mAb Continue reading Learning from Set-Backs: The Frustrating Search for a Staphylococcal Vaccine

Surprise: Hanta Virus Right in Your Back Yard

Hanta Virus Epidemics in Germany? When I learned that a friend of mine came down with Hanta virus infection in Germany, I thought I had heard wrong. Mice and voles shed hanta viruses in their excreta which – when aerosolized Continue reading Surprise: Hanta Virus Right in Your Back Yard

Aeromonas salmonicida: Trouble for Aquaculture with Drug Resistance

Aeromonas salmonicida causes furunculosis in salmon hatcheries and in freshwater fish.  The organism has several recognized virulence mechanisms including the T3SS [1].  Link to this post!