Hi. I'm a human biology student in Portugal and I was thinking about working with virology in the UK. Can I work there with a master's degree or do I need a doctor's degree? And what should I do to make that happen?

Hello all!

I did my PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology with a concentration in Virology in the USA. I have 5+ years of BSL3/4 flavivirus + SARS research experience and I am currently working as a Postdoctoral Fellow in a medical center but I would like to move to Europe/UK. I have heard a lot of praise of the work-life balance in the EU and honestly my PhD was super tiring as it usually is for everyone. If anyone has any tips on where and how to apply for scientist/research positions please let me know I would really appreciate it! Also, how easy is it for scientists to get sponsorship for such roles? TIA!!

Good afternoon everyone! Hope you’re all save and sound. Now I am actively trying to find literature on the prospects of creating vaccines against covid. I found articles about vaccines based on self-amplifying RNA (saRNA), as well as some information about the use of various TLR agonists for additional stimulation of immune response. So, if you have come across anything else interesting in this area, I would really appreciate a hint 😇. Thank you in advance!

I should clarify that this is not for actual/personal use.

I’m working on good practice report as part of my global health project. Part of it is coming up with a new strategy for addressing the health the problem.

I wanted to incorporate the use of dengue screening tests alongside fever screening in airports. The issue is I’m having difficulty finding information for “at home” dengue screening tests. There has been one test I was able to find but it only shows up in Amazon and I can’t find any manufacturing information about the test itself or much information on the company that produced it.

do you need a medical degree or phd or are there other routes into the career?

I have already done a lot of research on HPV infections and have read that the infection is eliminated in 9 out of 10 cases by the immune system.

But is the virus really completely eliminated in 9 out of 10 cases by the immune system or just temporarily inactivated?

Just asking, because I never have really been able to grasp the 50% CFR/IFR that H5N1 has had historically, and I believe that mild/asymptomatic cases were highly missed in many cases.

"As a virus scientist in South Africa, I’ve been watching with dread as H5N1 bird flu spreads among animals in the United States."

So what should the US be doing about this?

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/opinion/bird-flu-disease-outbreak.html?unlocked_article_code=1.bE4.rVYo.gDAhJ8mPmwDR&smid=url-share

Hi Everyone,

Long-time fan, first time poster. I'm hoping to learn more about HSV 1/2, and viruses in the same family that present similarly. My knowledge is based entirely on what nursing school has taught me thus far and what I've seen in clinical rotations, so please forgive any misuse of terminology. There is an incredibly large body of research on HSV, so I was surprised to watch a clinician struggle to explain symptoms to a patient I was taking care of in a more matter-of-fact way.

I'm very much in the mindset that the best approach to patient education is giving them the classical symptoms, offering reassurance, and then punctuating the interaction with "though uncommon, here's what you could experience". The doctor I shadowed took a rather circuitous route which ended in prescribing a URL for the patient to follow for more information (read: some information). The entire interaction left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and I realize as a future nurse I would never want to put my patient, or a nursing student, in the same position.

I hope these questions aren't too ridiculous - I'd rather get flogged now for asking something silly than years down the line. Thanks for any help, and no pressure to answer all of them!

1. Do herpes lesions (both oral and genital) appear in the same area they entered, or can the virus travel through the nerve and show up elsewhere?

2. Can EBV, CMV, or other viruses within the herpes family skew the results of HSV1/HSV2 antibody or culture/PCR tests?

3. Can EBV, CMV, or other viruses in the herpes family have dermatologic presentations nearly identical to HSV1/2?

4. Are antibody tests confirmatory? If a patient has consistently negative or positive results for a year or years following exposure, is that enough to confirm or rule-out HSV1/2?

5. Does HSV infection predispose you to other STIs beyond HIV? I know the two viruses have an interesting relationship.

6. Should we be recommending PCRs and Western Blots to our patients in lieu of antibody testing? Or are all these labs important in their own right?

is it possible for 2 different pathogens, from 2 different kingdoms (fungi and viruses, bacteria etc) to fuse into a single pathogen?

I randomly got interested into viruses and before I actually start going deep into virology, what is some of the basics I need to know.

Dear virologists,

I had today a seminar about an RNA virus with a negatively-polarised RNA.

I was wondering about the reason those viruses evolved that way, or, how they did survived, since the step of making -RNA to +RNA takes times, as well as it needs an extra enzyme, the RNA dependent RNA polymerase RdRp, that the virus has to carry in its genes (because mammalians don’t have it).

What would be the advantages of having such (-)RNA as a genomic RNA, compared to viruses having a (+)RNA as genomic RNA ?

Or maybe I’m addressing a missconception that having an extra gene - for a polymerase - and having a -RNA as a genomic RNA doesn’t mean that it takes more time : maybe some cellular defenses are thus « disrupted »?

Thank you 🙏

Pierre

Wikipedia says no: 'Dysentery results from bacterial, or parasitic infections. Viruses do not generally cause the disease' but what about norovirus and rotavirus?

Just asking, because a lot of what is going on seems to indicate that we are headed towards an H5N1 pandemic.

Hey everyone,

I am thinking about taking a research opportunity up where this will involve shipping potentially BSL 3/4 material internationally from the field to the lab.

I have heard on the grapevine this is a nightmare - is that true? I would love to hear your experiences.

Thanks!

Hello! I'm sorry if the following question is dumb or unnecessary, and I'm also sorry for any grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language.

I was wondering if there's any skills, specially laboratory ones, that would be advantageous for me to learn or at least comprehend!

I'm planning to get into bioinformatics to widen my knowledge (specially because I'm friends with a professor that works with this and he said that he would gladly help me!) and I'm going to try to do some PCR again because I'm kinda rusty after sometime without doing it.

Is there anything that would be nice for me to learn as someone who really wants to be a virologist?

Once again I'm sorry if this has already been answered someone or is a dumb question, I just really wanted to ask

I need a inclusive book or articles or papers on basics and a bit advanced virology, the language preferably not that complicated to comprehend

It needs to be a number we can aim for and also achievable in real world indoor areas.

Hi everyone,

I have the second edition of the book "Medical Virology" by Fenner and White that is lying around in my house. It is from 1976. I would like to know if according to you the material it covers is still up to date and if it is a good introduction to this subject.

Thanks in advance for your comments and information.

Best,

Rhylx

Hello! I really would like to become a virologist, I have great interest in respiratory viruses and emerging ones.

However, I know my knowledge about Virology is still quite shallow, my microbiology lectures in college cover more about bacteria and sometimes fungi, but virology is not commonly taught, so I would need to learn from else where...

Does anyone know how can I learn more about Virology? Some books/courses recommendations would be nice!

I'm currently an RN with a Cath Lab/OR background but would like to make a transition into Virology. Since have a my undergrad and am familiar with infectious disease prevention (from the perspective of a nurse), how would you find folks recommend I start the transition? What steps do you recommend for education/work etc?

Also, sorry in advance, I read The Hot Zone, Spillover and Crisis in the Red Zone a long time ago. Since I've started lurking this sub, I keep seeing you all say not to read them.

Are there any actual "stomach viruses" or are they just viruses that cause vomiting and other symptoms?