viroLOGICAL

Before SARS-CoV-2, there was SARS-CoV-1 - a closely related coronavirus that caused a serious outbreak in 2002–2003 with a case fatality rate of around 10%. Unlike its successor, SARS-CoV-1 only became transmissible after symptoms appeared, which made it possible to identify and isolate infected people even without PCR tests. The virus spread from China to Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, and Vietnam via superspreader events before a global effort managed to contain it by June 2003. The likely origin: horseshoe bats at wet markets in Guangdong, with palm civets and raccoon dogs as intermediate hosts.

Rhinoviruses are a highly diverse group of RNA viruses responsible for about half of all common cold infections and are something most people encounter multiple times in their lives. In this episode, Florian Krammer explains the biology of these non-enveloped viruses, their large number of strains, and how they infect the upper respiratory tract.

Hepatitis B virus is a globally widespread infection that primarily targets the liver and can lead to chronic disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. In this episode, Florian Krammer explains the unique biology of this DNA virus, including its unusual replication strategy involving reverse transcription and its ability to persist in cells as a stable mini-chromosome.

ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome) is a complex and often misunderstood disease that affects the nervous system, immune system, and energy metabolism. In this episode, Florian Krammer explains the key symptoms, including severe fatigue, post-exertional malaise, sleep disturbances, and cognitive dysfunction, as well as the different levels of disease severity.

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is one of the most common human viruses, infecting around 90–95 percent of adults worldwide. In this episode, Florian Krammer explains the biology of EBV, a herpesvirus with a large DNA genome and a complex life cycle that includes both active replication and lifelong latent infection in B cells. The discussion covers how EBV spreads through saliva and close contact, why primary infection in adolescents often leads to infectious mononucleosis, and how the virus can persist silently in the body for decades.

Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has become a global concern once again. In this episode, Florian Krammer explains the biology of influenza A viruses, how subtypes like H5N1 are defined by their hemagglutinin and neuraminidase proteins, and why segmented genomes allow these viruses to reassort and evolve. He outlines the difference between low and highly pathogenic avian influenza, the molecular basis of increased virulence, and the historical spread of H5N1 since the late 1990s.

In this episode of viroLOGICAL, Florian Krammer explains rabies, one of the deadliest infectious diseases known. He describes what the rabies virus is, how it is transmitted mainly through bites and scratches, and why symptoms almost always lead to death once they appear.

Florian Krammer is a virologist and vaccine developer. In his podcast viroLOGICAL he will talk about viruses on a weekly basis – from historical pandemics to current developments.