Tag Archives: Virus

02Aug/26

How Colonialism Built the HIV Pandemic

August 2, 2026ReasearchBelgium, Cameroon, Congo, Epidemiology, Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, Gaëtan Dugas, Haiti, HIV, HIV/AIDS, Infection, Katanga, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Lentiviruses, Léopoldville, Los Angeles, Lubumbashi, Michael Worobey, Misconceptions about HIV/AIDS, New York City, Oliver Pybus, Pandemics, pentamidine, San Francisco, Sexually transmitted infections, Simian immunodeficiency virus, Subtypes of HIV, United States, Virusadmin

The Perfect Storm: How Urbanization and Colonial Medicine Ignited the Global AIDS Crisis

Sun, Aug 02 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ — The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) originated as a zoonotic infection when the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) crossed from wild primates into humans. Scientists trace the pandemic strain, HIV-1 Group M, to chimpanzees in southeastern Cameroon, likely crossing the species barrier between 1890 and the early twentieth century through the “cut hunter” transmission route, where individuals were exposed to infected primate blood while butchering bushmeat. Following this initial crossover, the virus traveled along river systems to Léopoldville, now Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Continue reading →

23Apr/24

Landmark New Publication: the Forgotten Biochemistry 101 of COVID-19

April 23, 2024ReasearchColleen Aldous, COVID-19, Morimasa Yagisawa, Thomas Borody, Virus, Wendy Hoy, Zoonosesadmin

TrialSite News features a paper published today in Viruses (Basel), authored by an international team of researchers, including two fellows of their nations’ academies of sciences (Colleen Aldous, senior author Wendy Hoy) and others who participated in Nobel prize-honored research (Thomas Borody, Morimasa Yagisawa). The publication reveals how coronavirus biochemistry well-established over past decades governs the morbidities of COVID-19, risk factors and therapeutic approaches. Continue reading

17Apr/23

Why are so many COVID19 vaccinated people getting shingles?

April 17, 2023HealthcareAnimal diseases, Chickenpox, RTT, Shingles, Vaccine, Varicella vaccine, Varicella zoster virus, Viral diseases, Virology, Virus, Zoster vaccineadmin

April 17, 2023 /Healthcare/ — There is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine causes shingles. However, there is some evidence that the COVID-19 vaccine may trigger shingles in people who are already at risk for the condition. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Once a person has had chickenpox, the virus remains dormant in the body. It can reactivate later in life, causing shingles.

There are a number of factors that can increase the risk of shingles, including: Continue reading →

01Nov/22

Omicron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 – an expert answers three key questions about these new COVID variants

November 1, 2022ReasearchBQ, Building biology, Canada, Creative Commons, Epidemiology, Immunology, Infection, Manal Mohammed, Medical specialties, Natural sciences, New Zealand, Physical sciences, Radon, SHUTTERSTOCK, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vaccination, Vaccine, Virusadmin

Manal Mohammed, University of Westminster

Two new omicron subvariants, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, are quickly gaining traction in the US, collectively accounting for 27% of infections as of October 29. Both are descendants of BA.5, the omicron variant that has dominated around the world for some months.

Continue reading →