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What is the flu? What does the flu do? Are there any flu socks? Is anyone listening to me? What happens when the world is up in flames, a Pandemic continues to rage on and Flu Season comes a knockin'? Buckle up kids because like it or not we're all strapped into the 2020 rollercoaster and we're about to find out. 
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sources 
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• https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a33427007/when-is-flu-season/
• https://www.today.com/health/flu-season-2020-2021-what-know-when-get-flu-shot-t188740
• https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/flu-vs-covid19.htm
• https://weather.com/health/cold-flu/news/2020-01-31-5-worst-flu-outbreaks-in-recent-history
• https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6937a6.htm?s_cid=mm6937a6_w
• https://www.livescience.com/flu-season-mild-covid-19-precautions.html
• https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2769835
• https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/09/fears-perfect-storm-flu-season-nears
• https://www.sciencenews.org/article/covid19-coronavirus-flu-season-fall
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coronavirus-and-the-flu-a-looming-double-threat/
• https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/08/how-will-covid-19-affect-coming-flu-season-scientists-struggle-clues
• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html
• https://www.livescience.com/new-coronavirus-compare-with-flu.html
• https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6496/1163
• https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/09/fears-perfect-storm-flu-season-nears
• 
  

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On this Viral Particle minisode, we discuss the drastic rise in domestic violence globally since the shutdown and we celebrate vultures, the unsung heroes of the public health world.
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sources 

• https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/09/10/910737751/the-women-of-peru-are-suffering-from-a-shadow-pandemic
• https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/vulture
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/sky-burial
• https://earthjournalism.net/stories/why-falling-vulture-populations-could-harm-public-health
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/world/coronavirus-domestic-violence.html

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Are birds real? Do crows really remember faces? How hard is a Sentinal chicken's day at work? And what the hell does any of that have to do with West Nile Virus? Tune into this week's episode of Viral Load to find out. 
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sources 

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3967162/
• https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/statsmaps/cumMapsData.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/dead-birds/index.html
• https://www.nature.com/articles/nature05829
• https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/504722/12-fascinating-facts-about-crows
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2627881/
• https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015437
• https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-researchers-reveal-first-257145
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6085780/
• https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/17016/
• https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/california_fracking/wildlife.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/westnile/statsmaps/preliminarymapsdata2020/index.html#:~:text=As%20of%20August%2025%2C%202020,have%20been%20reported%20to%20CDC.
• https://www.cdc.gov/zika/pdfs/spanish/bti-fact-sheet-sp.pdf

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Earthquakes, Hurricanes, COVID, and now wild fires. 2020 you're incorrigible. On this viral particle we check in on the California wildfires and cap it off with a simple case study about a man and his socks.
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sources
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https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/man-hospitalized-after-sniffing-his-socks-too-long/
https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Fire-evacuees-during-pandemic-steer-clear-of-15501184.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=briefing&utm_campaign=sfc_baybriefing_am&sid=5f13bd5e86dabf4d232cf8c1
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-man-in-china-developed-a-lung-infection-after-sniffing-his-own-socks-every-day
https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/pneumocystis-pneumonia/index.html

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What is the worst disease no one has ever heard of? Nipah! Ever heard of it? Join Andy and Brett as they discuss the Nipah virus, the inspiration for the 2011 blockbuster hit Contagion, bat urine, and date palm wine. All fun facts that are sure to make you a hit at your next Zoom cocktail hour.

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Sources 
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• https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/nipah/index.html
• Spiropoulou CF. Nipah Virus Outbreaks: Still Small but Extremely Lethal. J Infect Dis. 2019;219(12):1855-1857. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiy611
• Singh, et al. (2019). Nipah virus: epidemiology, pathology, immunobiology and advances in diagnosis, vaccine designing and control strategies - a comprehensive review. The veterinary quarterly, 39(1), 26–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/01652176.2019.1580827
• https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/219/12/1867/5144922
• https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/2018/05/nipah-virus
• https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/what-nipah-virus-n876476
• https://www.who.int/activities/prioritizing-diseases-for-research-and-development-in-emergency-contexts
• https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nipah-virus
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1286457901015222
• https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/25/5/18-1076_article
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6830995/

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It's been 8 months since the first case of the virus formally known as the Novel Coronavirus was found in Wuhan China. That number has grown in 8 months to over 20 Million cases. How do we escape this warped reality that is COVID-19? The answer just might be Operation Warp Speed.
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sources 

• https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/basics/test-approve.html
• Fact sheet: explaining Operation Warp Speed. US Dept of Health and Human Services. June 2020. Accessed July 30, 2020. https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/06/16/fact-sheet-explaining-operation-warp-speed.html
• O’Callaghan  KP, Blatz  AM, Offit  PA.  Developing a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine at warp speed.   JAMA. Published online July 6, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.12190
• Shah A, Marks PW, Hahn SM. Unwavering Regulatory Safeguards for COVID-19 Vaccines. JAMA. Published online August 07, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.15725
• https://www.nccn.org/patients/resources/clinical_trials/phases.aspx
• https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
• https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6494/945?fbclid=IwAR0BIDm74Kn3bbcX5MP5eLG_zn0kjkP23dSUB0SU-eNY7LKSyaloF7d6L-E
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-are-seasonal-flu-vaccines-made/
• http://www.immunizedelaware.org/for-professionals/vaccine-conspiracies-and-controversies/
• https://fn.bmj.com/content/76/1/F64.full
• https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2020/04/covid-top-10-current-conspiracy-theories/
• https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ConspiracyTheoryHandbook.pdf
• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-diseases/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-how-they-work-latest-developments-cvd/
• https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fauci-says-public-should-temper-expectations-on-covid-19-vaccine-as-us-infections-near-5-million-2020-08-09
• https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2820%2931605-6
• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/05/moderna-coronavirus-vaccine-how-it-works-cvd/#close

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What do you get when you cross totalitarianism with a pandemic? If you guessed "one helluva story", we owe you a La Croix! COVID-19 has finally arrived in North Korea...or has it? Join Andy and Brett as they traverse the demilitarized zone, on this week's extra-large viral particle.








References:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/world/asia/north-korea-coronavirus-kim-jong-un.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/world/asia/north-korea-coronavirus.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/world/asia/north-korea-defector-coronavirus.html
• https://ourworldindata.org/covid-exemplar-south-korea
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53541730
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/world/asia/north-korea-defector-coronavirus.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/world/asia/north-korea-defector-coronavirus.html
• https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/north-korea#
• https://www.history.com/topics/korea/korean-war
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/13/soldier-shot-by-north-korean-guards-as-he-defects-to-south

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Remember to stop and smell the roses. Unless of course those roses are in fact Oleanders, Love Beans, Corpse Flowers, or any number of vegetable seed roots. Better yet take a picture you'll last longer. Are there plants around us everyday that can be made into weapons of terrorism? Have we found the perfect plant that when placed on the tip of an umbrella is capable of taking down even the best secret agents? Watch your back Mr. Bond. Join us on this week's episode to find out what not to add to your summer bouquet or evening tea. 

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2020 the year of COVID-19, Murder Hornets, locust swarms, social injustice and...it's not over yet. What if we told you the death toll didn't stop with COVID-19? What if as predicted by some in the scientific community the shutdown had unintended consequences of epic proportions? No we aren't talking about suffocation from wearing a mask while shopping at Wal-Mart or getting your hair did. We are talking about The Others! 
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Resources: 

• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/world/asia/h1n1-swine-flu-virus-china-pig.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/2019-2020/cdc-prepare-swine-flu.html
• https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/health/death-toll-other-diseases-pandemic-coronavirus-wellness/index.html
• https://whdh.com/news/squirrel-tests-positive-for-bubonic-plague-in-united-states/
• https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-estimates.htm
• https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2020-07-18/tests-reveal-coronavirus-in-yosemite-national-parks-sewage?src=usn_fl
• https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/15/891551846/u-n-points-to-alarming-decline-in-child-vaccinations
• https://extranet.who.int/publicemergency

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Is there life on Mars? On this episode follow Brett and Andy down the black hole of Astrovirology. The guys discuss what extraterrestrial life could look like as well as the unintended consequences of the arms race to colonize Mars.