Lockdown stunted a bunch of other viruses too

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-03-26 10:00

Australia; New Zealand; International; VIC; QLD; WA

A global team of scientists including some from New Zealand and Australia say there is now good evidence that the spread of most seasonal viruses like the flu and RSV have been ‘severely curtailed’ by Covid-19 restrictions. They first saw the effect in Australia and New Zealand, but are now seeing a similar effect in the UK and Europe. However the team say some areas are seeing a resurgence of these viruses late in the season, suggesting the lockdown may have simply put a temporary pause on their transmission.

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Research Wiley-Blackwell, Web page

Journal/
conference: Journal of Medical Virology

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The University of Queensland, Canterbury Health Laboratories, Children’s Heath Queensland, Pathwest Laboratory Medicine, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza

Funder: N/A

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