Since last year, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has drastically changed our lives. Since certain symptoms of COVID-19 are very similar to those of seasonal flu, the question of whether COVID-19 is the same as flu kept coming up. But what exactly are the similarities and differences between these diseases that have necessitated drastic action? In this Science Café, we take on this question and look directly at the science behind the pandemic. In particular, we compare influenza and Sars-CoV-2 from a medical and epidemiological perspective – a project that emerged from a collaboration between the Machine Learning & Computational Biology group at ETH, Laboratory Medicine at Unispital Basel, and the Applied Microbiology Research group at the University of Basel.

Panelists:

• Dr. Juliane Klatt, Postdoctoral Researcher, Machine Learning & Computational Biology Lab, ETH Zurich
• Dr. Tim Roloff, Bioinformatician, Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel
• Prof. Martin Siegemund, Deputy Head, Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Aucte Medicine, University Hospital Basel
• Dr. Karoline Leuzinger, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Clinical Virology, University Hospital Basel and University of Basel
• Dr. Catherine Jutzeler, Senior assistant, Machine Learning & Computational Biology Lab, ETH Zurich, Moderation