Author Archives: Francesc Xavier Abad
Viral comments (27): Crimean-Congo, the wave passed… for now.
The interest of society towards certain subjects fluctuates up and down, until the matter eventually leaves the scene. Even though Crimean-Congo news no longer appear on newspapers we will write a second post, and maybe last, for now, dedicated to this virus. A few ideas will be reviewed regarding the epidemiology, the potential distribution of the Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV onwards) in Spain and Catalonia, also about its pathogenesis and how it affects our health systems. A patchwork-post, if you like, not one with a linear style but brushstrokes to outline the global painting…or al least to give a quick hand of paint to the wall.
Viral comments (26): Crimean-Congo virus infects in Spain. It’s not a newcomer, though, since it arrived a few years ago.
Yesterday we ate lunch with the news of the confirmation of the first two cases in Western Europe (one of them, mortal) of Crimea Congo hemorrhagic fever virus infection (CCHF onwards). It was the chronicle of story foretold. We’ll discuss more about this in a future post, because the genome of the virus had been detected from ticks in a farm in Extremadura, in the years 2010-11.
Viral Comments (25): Enterovirus, here comes the surprise.
This post has been published in Catalan and Spanish only, please accept our apologies.
Viral comments (24): Norovirus and Andorra; nothing to declare?
The last two weeks news about the outbreak of norovirus on bottled water in Catalonia have flooded the headlines After the initial tumult, here is a briefing of the facts, with a few conclusions.
Viral Comments (23): Zika and semen, one-time dangerous liaison.
Zikavirus is an arbovirus, an arthropod borne virus, a virus transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes. Let’s be more precise; Zika is an arbovirus, an arthropod borne virus, a virus mainly transmitted by arthropods such as mosquitoes. But there are some secondary routes. Zikavirus, but also Ebola, for example, apparently very different viruses, have a transmission path, clearly secondary, but slightly surprising: the sexual route.
Viral comments (22): Zika and animals: We do not know much!
The Zika virus is an emerging virus (ZIKV), because right now it rides on Aedes genus mosquitoes colonizing new geographic areas, but it’s been around us openly over 60 years (it is noted on a recent study that the three variants that circulate nowadays, two African and one from Asia, have a common origin back in 1920, but we cannot go beyond that time) and probably hundreds or thousands of years in their natural hosts … which we have not yet fully identified.
Viral comments (21): Dengue virus, another pathogen, now globalized, which knocks at our door
There are a number of vector-borne diseases, those that are by arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks, which are becoming more likely in our regions as a result of globalization (especially in what it has to facilitate the movement of goods and people), and disturbances caused by climate change. One of these diseases with a high probability to finally settle in Catalonia is dengue.
Viral comments (20): CReSA is an ICTS? And what is an ICTS?
Science can be done with a few resources but good ideas, better questions and a lot of brains. But much of modern science requires big infrastructures … and a lots of brains to use them.
