Infectious Thoughts

An open letter to the people of Whakatane (and the rest of Aotearoa New Zealand)*

Siouxsie Wiles • Jul 02, 2017

• Altogether Autism,
• Andrew Wakefield,
• autism,
• BCG,
• Brian Deer,
• Immunisation Advisory Centre,
• Lance O'Sullivan,
• MMR,
• TB,
• vaccination,
• Vaxxed,
• Whakatane

As a parent, I know what it’s like to worry about whether you are doing the right thing for your child. When my daughter was born, I couldn’t quite believe that after just a few days in hospital we’d be going home in sole charge of a small infant. Didn’t they realise we were unqualified?! Aside from giving her a … Read More

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Crowdfunding a solution to a global crisis

Siouxsie Wiles • May 22, 2017

• antibiotic resistance,
• antibiotics,
• antimicrobial resistance,
• crowdfund,
• crowdfunding,
• Cure Kids,
• Funding,
• Health Research Council,
• HRC,
• Infectious Diseases,
• Marsden,
• money,
• Superbugs,
• The University of Auckland

Friday, the 19th May. Another day, another funding application rejected. My proposal? To search for new antibiotics from New Zealand’s unique fungi to help avert a global crisis that experts predict will soon be killing more people than cancer. This is the fifth time I’ve tried to get government funding for this project in the last 3 years. I’ve … Read More

A typhoid outbreak in Auckland: the hunt for the source is on!

Siouxsie Wiles • Apr 01, 2017

• Auckland hospital,
• bacteria,
• Infectious Diseases,
• Salmonella,
• sick,
• Typhoid,
• typhoid fever,
• Typhoid Mary

According to news reports, ten people in Auckland have been hospitalised with typhoid, and health officials say we can expect more cases. So what is typhoid and why is this news? Typhoid is an infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Typhi, usually abbreviated to Salmonella Typhi or S. Typhi. Humans are this bacteria’s only … Read More

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A future without antibiotics

Siouxsie Wiles • Nov 24, 2016

• antimicrobial resistance,
• Drugs,
• InfectedNZ,
• Infectious disease

Last week was World Antibiotic Awareness week, an initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance. To follow-up, here at Te Pūnaha Matatini we are having a week-long conversation about the health, social, economic, and environmental impacts of infectious diseases in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this post, I want to touch on what … Read More

InfectedNZ: the state of the nation

Siouxsie Wiles • Nov 21, 2016

• antibiotic resistance,
• Antibiotic Resistance Awareness Week,
• InfectedNZ,
• Infectious disease

Today marks the start of World Antibiotic Awareness week, an initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness and understanding of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. To coincide, here at Te Pūnaha Matatini we are launching a week-long conversation about the health, social, economic, and environmental impacts of infectious diseases in Aotearoa New Zealand. Where possible, in … Read More

Shopping trolleys and superbugs: an FAQ

Siouxsie Wiles • Oct 03, 2016

• adenovirus,
• Australia,
• bacteria,
• contamination,
• Daily Mail,
• diarrhoea,
• food poisoning,
• Rotavirus,
• Salmonella,
• salmonellosis,
• shopping trolley,
• virus

A story about a baby catching a life-threatening infection from a shopping trolley has made the headlines. So what was this life threatening infection, and was the trolley really to blame? This story originally appeared in the DailyMail Australia which saw Vivienne Wardrop’s Facebook post warning other parents about shopping trolley hygiene. Her 10 month old son is currently recovering from … Read More

Superbugs could kill more people than cancer by 2050

Siouxsie Wiles • May 28, 2016

• antibiotic discovery,
• antibiotics,
• Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy,
• colistin,
• e coli,
• Jim O'Neill,
• Superbugs,
• USA,
• WHO,
• World Health Organization

Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are in the news again. This time a strain of E. coli resistant to the antibiotic colistin has been spotted in the USA. So why is this newsworthy and should we be scared?  A strain of E. coli has been identified in the USA that is resistant to the antibiotic colistin. A paper describing the strain has just been published … Read More

A herbalist anti-vaxxer on Morning Report? I’d laugh if I weren’t so bloody furious.

Siouxsie Wiles • May 17, 2016

• anti-vaccination,
• Anti-Vax,
• false balance,
• Guyon Espiner,
• herbalist,
• IMAC,
• measles,
• MMR,
• Morning Report,
• naturopath,
• Nikki Turner,
• R0,
• Richard Hall,
• RNZ,
• Spinoff,
• vaccination,
• Waikato

After today’s interview with an anti-vaxxer, RNZ needs to do some serious soul-searching about its decision to give a platform to non-scientific nonsense.  As I write this my blood is boiling and I’m in a rage. There is a measles outbreak going on in the Waikato, with over 20 confirmed cases. It also looks like the virus has spread to … Read More

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Monday Micro: feminine beer?!

Siouxsie Wiles • Apr 04, 2016

• Alexandra Brendlova,
• bacteria,
• beer,
• brewing,
• crowdfunding,
• Indiegogo,
• lactic acid,
• microbes,
• order of yoni,
• Vagina,
• vaginal,
• yoni

When I first saw news of this beer shared on social media, I thought it was an early April fool’s gag. But it appears not to be. Someone really is trying to crowdfund a beverage made with vaginal bacteria. If you haven’t watched the video, ‘The Order of Yoni’* are selling the idea that you can … Read More

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An update on Zika infection and pregnancy

Siouxsie Wiles • Mar 16, 2016

• Brazil,
• French Polynesia,
• Lancet,
• microcephaly,
• mosquitoes,
• outbreak,
• virus,
• zika

New research which looked at the data from the 2013-2014 outbreak of Zika in French Polynesia, estimates that the risk of microcephaly is about 1 for every 100 women infected with the Zika virus during the first trimester of pregnancy. Zika is the virus spread by mosquitoes (and more rarely by sexual transmission) that … Read More