virology blog
About viruses and viral disease
TWiV explains why this season’s influenza vaccine is not protecting against mild to moderate disease caused by H3N2 virus, and that antibody-dependent entry of SARS-CoV-2 into monocytes is a major contributor to severe COVID-19.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Rich Condit, and Amy Rosenfeld
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Immunity conferred by influenza virus vaccine is short-lived. After immunization with inactivated influenza virus vaccine, serum antibody levels peak within a few months and then decline rapidly. This decline was recently shown to be caused by loss of bone marrow plasma cells, a major source of serum antibodies. Results of a recent study partially address the relevance of this observation to infection with SARS-CoV-2.
Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, then we discuss decline of virus-specific bone marrow B cells within a year after influenza vaccination, the push to release SARS-CoV-2 vaccines before completion of phase 3 trials, and absence of evidence for infectious virus in aerosols.
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Download TWiV 660 (95 MB .mp3, 159 min)
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TWiV provides updates on the new coronavirus causing respiratory disease in China, the current influenza season, and the epidemic of African swine fever, including determination of the three-dimensional structure of the virus particle.
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Download TWiV 582 (71 MB .mp3, 118 min)
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The human gut microbiome appears to play diverse roles in host physiology, metabolism, and immunity. Most conclusions about what the trillions of bacteria in our intestines actually do come from studies in mice, or correlative studies in humans. An exception is an investigation in humans which shows that antibiotic-mediated alteration of the fecal microbiome* interferes with the antibody response to influenza vaccine.
[Read more…] about Antibiotics blunt the antibody response to influenza vaccine
The League of Extraordinary Virologists celebrate the eradication of wild poliovirus type 3, and consider the effectiveness of an influenza vaccine produced in insect cells, and how small RNAs are protecting the Koala germline from retroviral invasion.
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Download TWiV 571 (64 MB .mp3, 105 min)
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Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv