Malaria infections are often “complex”, meaning they consist of several parasite strains co-circulating in the blood. Complex infections can arise due to multiple mosquito bites, and/or due to a single bite introducing several genotypes. Complex infections create a huge problem when it comes to genetic sequencing because the “phasing” of the genotypic data is lost. This means a genetic variation at a first locus may be known, and there is variation at a second locus, but its unclear which variation goes together.
The Covid-19 recovery minister, Chris Hipkins, says New Zealanders have to wait for the vaccine to roll out in countries being ravaged by the virus before they ll get their turn.
EXPLAINER: The pandemic rages on and over 2 million people have now succumbed to Covid-19. Since last year, scientists have scrambled to determine just how deadly the virus is. But it s a hard question to answer. The comments sparked widespread alarm, particularly as initial estimates suggested Covid-19’s mortality rate was lower. A death rate of 3.4 per cent was terrifying. Flu’s mortality rate, in comparison, is usually below 0.1 per cent. During the Spanish influenza pandemic, 2.5 percent of those infected died.