Bill Wegener on Unsplash

The whole world has been affected by the biggest and most severe virus pandemic in the last 100 years. We're still at the beginning of the pandemic, so we don't know what will happen. It has generated a great deal of interest in understanding viruses better, and there is a lot to be told, including some surprising things such as the fact that we have large amounts of viruses built into our genome and viruses are necessary for human fetal formation. There are viruses that attack viruses. Some viruses may even be beneficial to our immune system, others will kill you in no time.

Professor Dr. Med. Anders Fomsgaard takes stock of what we know and do not know about viruses in a series of interviews (in Danish) with science journalist Jens Degett. The series consists of five programs, four of which were recorded on March 11 and March 13, 2020. The last program was recorded on April 15, 2020.

This program is about measles, which is many times more contagious than Coronavirus. There is a very exciting story about Peter Aaby's observations in Gunea Bisau, the HPV virus, which has sparked a fierce debate about vaccine and Herpes that may not even be so bad.

Anders Fomsgaard has been head of the Virus Research & Development Laboratory at the Danish Serum Institute since 1992. He is also an adjunct professor at SDU, and has worked with virus research in Denmark, Germany and the USA. Anders Fomsgaard's current book release is titled: ”Det er bare en virus”, published by Gyldendals Forlag.

The other podcasts in the series are:

• Viruses in perspective 1: Influenza, corona, polio and smallpox

• Viruses in perspective 2: HIV, AIDS and retroviruses

• Viruses in perspective 4: Exotic giant viruses and viruses in our genome

• Viruses in perspective 5: Tests and vaccines against COVID-19

Follow Science Stories on: iTunes, Spotify, Spreaker, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Science Stories is supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.