Even as public interest in the pandemic began to wane in its third year, COVID still ranked at the top of our most read stories. But this year it had to share the limelight with other viruses, in particular mpox, HIV and polio.
With COVID, we spent the first part of the year looking at the omicron variant. How bad is it? How immune are we? Why do you have a brother? And we wonder about vaccines, not just here, but all over the world. And why is there this strange subset of people who never seem to get COVID?
But just when we were all thinking about variants of COVID and feeling pretty good about the ideas that the viruses might weaken over time and might even be left behind, we were surprised by a more contagious and severe variant of HIV, as well as global outbreaks. of vaccine-derived polio, including cases in New York.
And scientists reminded us not to underestimate viruses.
Finally, a severe global outbreak of mpox occurred so suddenly that President Biden declared a public health emergency in the US.
Keeping up with viruses in 2022 was like a game of Whac-A-Mole: as soon as you felt you had discovered one, another would appear, only to be followed by a variant of the first.
Ranked here in order of popularity are the infectious disease stories you most wanted to read from us in 2022. We hope we answered your most pressing questions!
A Texas team unveils a COVID vaccine that could be a global game changer
Peter Hotez and Maria Elena Bottazzi used old but good technology to design a vaccine that is easy to make and relatively cheap. Then they made their recipe available to all countries. Posted on January 5, 2022.
/ Max Trautner/Texas Children’s Hospital
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Max Trautner/Texas Children’s Hospital
Dr. Peter Hotez and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi of Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine have developed a vaccine against COVID-19 that could benefit countries with fewer resources.
A second version of omicron is being released. Here’s why scientists are on alert
It is a brother to the first omicron variant that swept the world. Is it more contagious? Does it cause serious illness? Will it keep the current waves of omicron? Researchers are looking for answers. Posted on January 27, 2022.
/Uma Shankar Sharma/fake images
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Uma Shankar Sharma/Getty Images
A computer-generated image of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Rare monkeypox outbreak in the UK, Europe and the US: what is it and should we be concerned?
The cases point to possible sexual transmission of this cousin of smallpox, a previously unknown method of spreading monkeypox. Posted on May 18, 2022.
CDC/fake images
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fake images
Symptoms of the monkeypox virus are shown on the hand of a patient, from a 2003 case in the United States. In most cases, the disease causes fever and painful, pus-filled blisters. The new cases in the UK, Spain and Portugal are possibly spreading through sexual contact, which has not previously been linked to monkeypox transmission.
What we know about the symptoms, and severity, of the omicron variant
Researchers are analyzing US case data to determine if the variant causes milder disease. Even if the answer is yes, they say, hospitalization rates could be high during the surge. Posted on January 6, 2022.
/Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images
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Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images
A commuter masks up for a bus journey in Liverpool, England. The omicron variant of coronavirus has risen in the UK and is now dominant in the US as well. There is now data indicating how severe its symptoms could be.
So you haven’t caught COVID yet. Does that mean you’re a super dodger?
A new study suggests that, yes, there are super dodgers. But explaining why they have been able to avoid the virus is a bit tricky. Posted on September 7, 2022.
The future of the pandemic looks clearer as we learn more about the infection
Scientists are beginning to find answers to the question of how long antibodies can protect you from infection and what they will protect you from. Posted on February 7, 2022.
/ Scientific source
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scientific source
SARS-CoV-2 is shown in this stained transmission electron micrograph. This specimen was isolated from a patient in the US. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells grown in the laboratory.
Monkeypox: The Myths, Misconceptions, And Facts About How You Get It
Is it a sexually transmitted disease? Can you get it on a crowded bus? Trying clothes? We spoke to specialists about how this virus is transmitted and what kind of precautions are warranted. Posted on August 5, 2022.
/ Eduardo Munoz/REUTERS
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Eduardo Munoz/REUTERS
A person arrives to be vaccinated against monkeypox at a New York health center.
The discovery of a variant of HIV shows that the virus can evolve to be more severe and contagious
Findings from a new study help answer questions about why some people get more severe and transmissible HIV than others, and serve as a reminder that viruses don’t always weaken over time. Posted on February 4, 2022.
A colorized electron microscope image from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a single human immunodeficiency virus budding from a human immune cell.
How the US case could be linked to the global rise in polio
Countries in Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia have more cases of vaccine-derived polio. There is now a probable case in the US Investigators are looking for ways to stop it. Posted on April 26, 2022.
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Rizwan Tabassum/AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
A health worker administers the oral polio vaccine to a girl as other children wait their turn at a school in Karachi, Pakistan, on February 28, 2022. In response to a rise in vaccine-derived polio cases , a form of the disease that is derived from the oral vaccine: Many countries are rolling out a new oral polio vaccine.
Source: news.google.com