Infectious Diseases

Being able to differentiate bacterial species is important for a host of reasons. This article explores how Gram staining differentiates bacteria based on cell wall structure, aiding species identification in clinical and food safety settings.

A century has passed since the 1918 global flu pandemic, aka the ‘Spanish flu’. Back in the early 1900s, the virus was a relatively novel concept. Since then, our understanding of viruses has come a long way, as have our diagnostics tools, and control and preventative strategies.

Although DNA viruses also undergo genetic changes, this article will focus on the changes seen in RNA viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), influenza A virus (IAV) and SARS-CoV-2.

As part of the host-pathogen arms race, viruses are continually evolving to evade the host immune response, be it from previous infection or immunity acquired through vaccination.