A male-biased sex-ratio may make the entire population more aggressive, making virus transmission more efficient and, thus, lead to higher disease prevalence.
As patients admitted to hospital due to severe pneumonia are rarely tested for Influenza B, the incidence of admission due to this virus might be greatly underestimated, therefore, a more aggressive search for influenza virus and empirical treatment might be warranted.
The new, more aggressive H5N8 avian flu virus was first detected at the end of November in northern France.
A more aggressive mutation of the virus, they said, could infect 30% to 50% of the population, lead to as many as 1.8 million hospitalizations and cause between 30,000 to 90,000 deaths compared to the annual number of 36,000.
Previously, people had put these patterns down to younger people being more likely to encounter birds, or the virus being more aggressive in elderly people.
If we knew which mutations and biological traits can change the zoonotic H5N1 virus into a virus with major public health impact, detection of specific mutations in circulating avian viruses should trigger more aggressive control programs than those employed currently.
It makes animals – usually dogs and bats, and occasionally humans – more aggressive, compelling them to spread the virus through biting and scratching.
And because the immune system deteriorates with age, the virus is all the more aggressive in older people.
The authors correctly state that conventional intracranial pressure-lowering modalities are limited in such severe herpes simplex virus encephalitis patients and more aggressive treatment options are needed.
Completed: "I sometimes wish that he were a little more aggressive, a little less conservative in treating this virus".
