All posts tagged: Virus

The Curse of ‘…Isms’ and the Woke Mind Virus

Published by Jenni Sidey

The term ‘Woke’, not to be confused with ‘Awake’, is just another word for evil or degeneracy. Its euphuism in ‘polite company’ is Liberalism or Socialism, the latter being a euphuism for Communism and Marxism. The devil was the first Woke pest, along with his fallen angels. I’ve written about a ‘sister’ version of Woke here: The Colonized Hive Mind | Mind Matters A lot of people think the Woke phenomenon is something new that developed over the past 35 years, a manifestation of the loony-left Political Correctness of the late-1980s, thanks to the then UK’s Labour government. But it’s not new. The roots (no pun intended) of Woke probably evolved slowly post-Jim Crow South, then into the 1930s and beyond, due to the experiences of black Americans who were subjected to discrimination. A turning point was when the ideology lost most of its noble intentions and was bastardised in the West during the 1960s’ Sexual Revolution. Although it remained anti-racism, it expanded to include many other causes, some of which were, and still are, …

Vomiting virus is spreading across most of the U.S.

Published by Sam Flores

Flu season may be mostly behind us, but a nasty, highly contagious stomach bug is rising. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. In recent weeks, hikers in Southern California have been hit with norovirus, according to the Pacific Crest Trail Association. Outdoor enthusiasts along the iconic trail aren’t the only ones suffering. Recent wastewater surveillance reveals an upward trend to “high” levels of norovirus across much of the country, with rates currently rising in the Northeast. From Aug. 1 to May 7, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s NoroSTAT program recorded 1,194 outbreaks, compared with 2,534 during the same period the previous year — consistent with past averages. “At the national level, norovirus is still in the HIGH category due to high concentrations over the last 21 days,” Amanda Bidwell, the scientific program manager at WastewaterSCAN, an academic program through Stanford University in partnership with Emory University, said in an email. Norovirus is often called the “winter vomiting disease,” but it’s not unusual for outbreaks …

The Shingles Virus May Be Aging You More Quickly

Published by Miika Tikkanen

In 2010, a university lecturer from Colorado started experiencing worrying signs of cognitive decline. The lecturer—a 63-year-old viral immunologist whose identity has been kept anonymous—suffered alarming symptoms, including impaired memory, waning concentration, and difficulty reading. While giving lectures to students, he found he had difficulty focusing and was often unable to finish sentences without pausing. But medical tests, including a brain biopsy, failed to get to the source of the problem, and over the next four years, his symptoms continued to progress. His decline would have likely continued unabated had he not heard about a case of encephalitis—serious brain inflammation caused by a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, most commonly associated with childhood chickenpox and, later in life, shingles. Remembering that his own symptoms had been preceded by a brief case of shingles, subsequent tests confirmed the patient had indeed experienced a reactivation of varicella-zoster. And so he decided to treat the problem with a course of acyclovir, an antiviral drug commonly prescribed to shingles patients. To his colleagues’ amazement, the Colorado lecturer’s symptoms quickly …

The Epstein-Berr virus infects most of us – but why do only some get very ill?

Published by Miika Tikkanen

About 1 in 10 people carry genetic variants that make them particularly vulnerable to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a ubiquitous pathogen that is increasingly being linked to conditions like multiple sclerosis and lupus. The finding, which comes from a study of more than 700,000 people, may help explain why EBV causes severe illnesses in some people while leaving most of us virtually unharmed. “Almost everyone is exposed to EBV,” says Chris Wincup at King’s College London, who wasn’t involved in the research. “How come everyone is exposed to the same virus and that virus causes autoimmunity, yet the majority of people don’t end up with an autoimmune condition?” This study offers an answer, he says. Epstein-Barr virus was first described in 1964, after researchers found particles of it in a type of cancer called Burkitt’s lymphoma. We now know that more than 90 per cent of people are infected by EBV at some point, because almost everyone produces antibodies against the virus. In the short term, EBV is the main cause of infectious mononucleosis, also …

A Virus Is Rising Exponentially This Month

Published by Jenni Sidey

Because awareness of a situation is the first step of protection, I closely follow what is happening in the nation and in the world of virus outbreaks. Three days ago, I attended my quarterly conference for physicians, which addressed the latest concerns about infectious diseases. The presentation was done by Shira Shafir, Ph.D., Master of Public Health, and Professor at UCLA, who said that one virus is on a steep rise, predicting one of the worst outbreaks in the last few years. That virus is influenza A. Below is a graph that tells all: We see the percentage of outpatients’ visits for influenza-like illnesses (proven influenza cases and not tested but similar cases) in 2025 and the beginning of 2026, compared to the last few years. The current outbreak is represented by a dark red line that is higher than in previous years and is expected to continue rising with the start of school this week. Indeed, the CDC estimates that in the U.S., there have been at least 11,000,000 cases, 120,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 …

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