Virology Blog

*Kim H, a FND patient with whom I have frequently exchanged views, has left a comment below. I urge others to read it. I disagree with her interpretation, but I certainly think she has a right to express her perspective. However, I stand by my post. ********** By David Tuller, DrPH For years*, experts in … Trial By Error: So FND Is Not Only a Brain “Software” Issue After All… Read More »

A number of posts on social media have suggested that Andes hantavirus, which most recently caused an outbreak on the MV Hondius, is sexually transmitted. These claims are based on a 2023 paper (Presence and Persistence of Andes Virus RNA in Human Semen). Let’s take a look at the data and see what conclusions can … Is Andes hantavirus sexually transmitted? Read More »

By David Tuller, DrPH I don’t generally write much myself on May 12th, which is an international day of awareness for ME. I’m aware of ME most of the time and write about it constantly, so I don’t feel a particular need to say anything special today. I usually consider it a day for patients … Trial By Error: More on Long COVID panel at Psychiatrists’ Gathering Read More »

by Gertrud U. Rey Contrary to popular belief, most vaccines don’t actually prevent infection with a pathogen, instead, they prevent the disease that follows infection. The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine stands out as a notable exception in this regard. A recent study indicates that antibodies produced in response to the HPV vaccine can neutralize the … The Perfect Vaccine Read More »

By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. ********** “Frail and Furious” on May 12th Each year on May 12th, an international day of ME awareness, #MillionsMissing protests are held in cities across the world and draw significant media attention. This … Trial By Error: News Bits–“Frail & Furious” for #Millions Missing; U…

By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. I posted two days ago that a Lancet journal, eClinicalMedicine, had just published a letter of mine, as well as an unsatisfactory corrigendum to the study I had criticized. That study, “Effects of … Trial By Error: Claims on Exercise for Long COVID Were “Overly Assertive,” Agree…

By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. *UPDATE: The journal has now published, in addition to the corrigendium, a response from the authors in which they acknowledge my concerns. Last year, eClinicalMedicine, a journal in the Lancet stable, published an … Trial By Error: Lancet Journal Publishes My Letter Challenging…

By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. ********** When it comes to exercise and Long COVID, investigators have routinely claimed success for their interventions–and many news articles have followed their lead in covering the issue. Most reporters don’t have the … Trial By Error: Article in New Scientist Questions Val…

By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. ********** BBC Radio 4 highlights criticism of interview with neurologist and author Suzanne O’Sullivan In March, neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan spoke on a BBC Radio 4 podcast called Radical, hosted by journalist Amol Rajan. … Trial By Error: Pushback Against Psychologizing on B…

By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. ********** Once again, I get into Damon’s tub “Tub Talks with Damon” is a series hosted by Damon Jacobs, a sex-positive therapist and advocate for gay men’s and queer people’s health. And yes, … Trial By Error: Two Interviews–My Latest Appearance on “Tub Talks with Damon”; Julie…

By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. How many bad papers can Trudie Chalder, King’s College London’s factually and mathematically challenged professor of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), churn out? The woman’s name seems attached to an inexhaustible supply of scientific … Trial By Error: How Many Awful Papers Can …

By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. ********** Julie Rehmeyer explores a friend’s death in New York Times’ Modern Love column It is hard to imagine having to cope with the aftermath of someone dying of suicide in your home. … Trial By Error: Some Things I’ve Read Recently… Read More »

by Gertrud U. Rey Vaccination with the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson adenovirus‑based COVID-19 vaccines has been linked to a very rare but serious adverse event known as vaccine‑induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT). Based on this small but significant risk, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revoked the emergency use authorization for the Johnson & … A Case of Misdirected Immu…

By David Tuller, DrPH *This is a crowdfunding month at UC Berkeley. If you’d like to support my work, the link is here. In a medical context, what does “recovery” mean? A pretty standard understanding is this one offered by The Free Dictionary: “a return to a normal or healthy condition.” If experts suggest a … Trial By Error: Are Claims of “Recovery” from Psycho-Behavioral Interventions a Form o…

By David Tuller, DrPH President Trump’s words and actions are routinely mind-boggling but never surprising, given past experience. The same is true of papers co-authored by Trudie Chalder, King’s College London’s mathematically and factually challenged professor of cognitive behavior therapy. In a recent article, she holds true to form. In “Recovery from chronic fatigue syndrome: a reflexive them…

By David Tuller, DrPH When researchers cite fraudulent studies in support of their claims, it is best not to take anything they write at face value. That is certainly the case with a recent paper titled “Persistent physical symptoms not explained by structural abnormalities or disease processes: a primary care approach to promote recovery,” published earlier this month in the Scandinavian Journal…

By David Tuller, DrPH Professor Esther Crawley, the methodologically and ethically challenged pediatrician and former grant queen at the University of Bristol, retired from medical practice and, apparently, from academia at some point in the recent past. So why does her name still appear on websites as if she were an active participant in research and clinical care? I noted in a blog post earlier…

By David Tuller, DrPH A recent disability case in Norway provides a good example of why the draft of a new guideline for “long-term fatigue—including ME/CFS” is so problematic. As I reported last week, the draft guideline, produced by the Norwegian Directorate of Health*, generally favors the biopsychosocial approach. The guideline offers few specifics about management and treatment of ME/CFS, an…

By David Tuller, DrPH Several years ago, the leaders of the biopsychosocial ideological brigades decided to create the Collaborative On Fatigue and related symptoms Following Infection, or COFFI. According to its website, COFFI’s “overarching aim” is “to investigate factors influencing the development of long-term symptoms (in particular fatigue) following certain infectious diseases.” Akershus U…

By David Tuller, DrPH When I was in Australia for the first time in 2018, it was clear that the country’s general practitioners were fervent supporters of the biopsychosocial ideology when it came to ME/CFS. That hasn’t changed, according to a recent exchange of views published in the Australian Journal of General Practice. The debate centers around the Royal Australian College of General Practit…