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Aetiology

Discussing causes, origins, evolution, and implications of disease and other phenomena.

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"...a veritable expert on tawdry cosmetic procedures gone horribly awry..."--Kevin Beck

Tara C. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology. Her research involves a number of pathogens at the animal-human nexus. Additionally, she is the founder of Iowa Citizens for Science and also writes for The Panda's Thumb and WIRED SCIENCE's Correlations. Please note the views expressed on this site are Dr. Smith's alone and may not be representative of the groups mentioned above.

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Infectious Disease Series

Influenza:

Influenza meta-update: H5N1 spreading, new swine influenza virus found

Avian influenza is still around, but don't overlook the swine!

"Tree man" diagnosis and treatment upsets Indonesian health minister

Indonesia plays hard to get with its viral samples...including that taken from their "tree man."

Pediatric Grand Rounds 2.11

Carnival of pediatric medical posts from the past month...

A perfect winter storm developing?

Influenza, staph and resistance to vaccination: not a good combination.

"Twelve Diseases that Changed Our World"

Learning from history to avoid repeating it. Ideally.

Swine flu in Ohio fairgoers?

County fairs can be hazardous to your health, for more reasons than the elephant ears and deep-fried twinkies...

A few must-read posts

A veritable stew of microbial goodness...

Finally, this angle gets some press

While some may argue whether avian influenza is "over-hyped" or not, other public health leaders are digging in and reminding scientists and the public that the next pandemic could come right out of our backyard, rather than from a more exotic novel virus--and that it pays to be prepared either way.

Influenza and masks, redux

Would the use of masks protect you in the event of an influenza pandemic? New research sheds some light on the question.

Influenza: the year in review, and looking forward

What's the scoop on recent influenza happenings? Find out...

The week's stories I missed

Good stuff you should be reading.

Influenza virologist Robert Webster stops by to talk shop

Readers who are regulars at Effect Measure or Deltoid will be familiar with the opinions of attorney and author Michael Fumento. Fumento considers himself an avian flu "skeptic," and recently issued a "challenge" (the title, "My avian flu challenge to...

Iowan has swine flu

When people think of Iowa, many of them think of our agriculture (for good reasons). Obviously, it's big business here. We ranked first in the nation in production of corn, soybeans, eggs, and pork in 2005. Indeed, population-wise, hogs here...

December Animalcules

Ho ho ho, and welcome to the early Christmas edition of Animalcules. Sit back, grab some hot cocoa, and click below to open your Christmas gift of some of the most interesting microbiology-themed blog posts over the past month....

Must-read post

Revere over at Effect Measure has an excellent post linking together the current bird flu situation with John Snow's investigations of 19th century cholera outbreaks. It's an interesting take on the situation--check it out....

Pandemic influenza awareness week: It's that time again

Flu shots are rolling out, and there should be no shortage this year. A few new articles remind the public of the importance of these vaccinations, especially in high-risk groups (something that I touched on here regarding data showing that...

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