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BK. Titanji

@boghuma.bsky.social
37K followers 3.2K following 7.3K posts

Physician Scientist MDPhD Infectious Diseases Academic Medicine Global Health Science Communicator Posts are my opinions, not my employer's and not medical advice I bet on myself and double down substack.com/@bktitanji

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
This is deeply sad news and a big loss for the scientific community and public at large. Helen Branswell was a stellar health reporter who was thorough and communicated with a rare clarity. I spoke to her for stories through the years. She will be missed. www.statnews.com/2026/10/13/h...
statnews.com
Helen Branswell, whose reporting on infectious diseases and public health drew acclaim, dies at 69
Helen Branswell, STAT's infectious disease reporter who earned the respect of experts and public health officials with her accessible, prescient dispatches, has died at age 69.
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Reposted by BK. Titanji
Onisillos @onisillos.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
"Conflating this accident with Russian bioweapons research activities is not helpful because this was a public-health lab where this incident happened. The idea that all public-health labs are secretly working on bioweapons is just nonsense." www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Plague scare: what scientists know, and what Russia won’t say
Unverified rumours swirl around the death of a Siberian laboratory technician. Nature talks to a biosecurity specialist to unpack the fallout.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Very true. Thanks you for reading and sharing your perspective. I appreciate it. Like I write in the essay this is not a critique of those who have an adventurous spirit but rather a reflection on why we are capable of the most impressive advances yet still leave entire communities behind.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
3/3 I hope Dykes completes his adventure safely. But who gets to choose danger for the thrill of exploration, equipped with modern medicine and the possibility of rescue, while many who call the Congo Basin home struggle to access basic healthcare? That's the question behind my essay.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
2/3 A century ago, infectious diseases made expeditions like this far more perilous. Tropical medicine has changed that, but its origins are deeply intertwined with colonialism. In Cameroon, a 1931 sleeping sickness treatment campaign left hundreds blind. A history rarely discussed.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
1/3 A Welshman, an inflatable kayak, the treacherous waters of the Congo Basin and the possibility of an angry hippopotamus. Millions are following Ash Dykes's adventure. As an ID physician, his journey got me thinking about something else. bktitanji.substack.com/p/a-welshman...
bktitanji.substack.com
A Welshman, a Kayak, and the Unequal Privilege of Adventure
On tropical medicine, colonial legacies, and the difference between choosing adventure and living with danger
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
When members of the IRB that reviewed a study are resigning in protest because they recognize the unethical design of the study and the avoidable harm it will cause, maybe it is a sign to no proceed with said study. Great reporting in the guardian. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau
Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchers
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
1.8 million dollars can provide the vaccine for thousands of kids preventing chronic hepatitis b and its consequences. Not funding a study which essentially uses children as guinea pigs for a moot hypothesis of a study that WILL cause harm.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This study was unethical when it was announced last year and it remains unethical today. The birth dose of the hepatitis b vaccine prevents perinatal acquisition of the infection. You cannot randomize a group of newborns to not receive it while giving it to others. www.linkedin.com/safety/go/?u...
linkedin.com
Hepatitis B vaccine study condemned as unethical wins approval from Danish university
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I'm still beating this drum. bktitanji.substack.com/p/plague-is-...
bktitanji.substack.com
Plague is Scary but That Doesn’t Make It the Next Pandemic.
Why a mysterious death in Siberia has captured our attention while far more consequential outbreaks struggle to do the same
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Kenya has reported its first case and death from Ebola in an individual who traveled to Kenya from the DRC. The ongoing outbreak in the DRC has killed 4000+ people and remains a threat for the region. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
theguardian.com
Kenya confirms first Ebola case as virus ‘surges’ in DR Congo province
Health minister says 28 contacts identified after death of citizen who arrived from DRC on Saturday
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
The barbarity of the death penalty cannot be overstated. Two wrongs never make a right. The death penalty should be abolished. www.yahoo.com/news/us/arti...
yahoo.com
Fort Hood mass shooter Nidal Malik Hasan to die by US Army firing squad
Hasan, a former Army officer who killed 13 people and injured 32 others during a mass shooting at Fort Hood in 2009, will be executed by firing squad.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The mysterious death of a scientist at a plague institute in Siberia has sparked “next pandemic” panic. I wrote about what we know, what we don’t, why plague is not the Black Death in 2026 and the real outbreaks we ignore while worrying about hypothetical ones. bktitanji.substack.com/p/plague-is-...
bktitanji.substack.com
Plague is Scary but That Doesn’t Make It the Next Pandemic.
Why a mysterious death in Siberia has captured our attention while far more consequential outbreaks struggle to do the same
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Reposted by BK. Titanji
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The confirmed #measles count in Pennsylvania has topped 1,000. Important to note that confirmed cases make up only a portion of all cases, especially given infections among PA's Amish community probably do not come to public health's attention in many cases. app.powerbigov.us/view?r=eyJrI...
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
An oversight. I should have tagged the health reporter who researched and wrote this piece for @cidrap.bsky.social . @lizszabo.bsky.social thank you for the opportunity to contribute.
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Reposted by BK. Titanji
Mike Coston @fla-medic.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
AFluDiary Blog `About that Russian `Lab Leak' Story' afludiary.blogspot.com/2026/10/abou... #Plague
afludiary.blogspot.com
About that Russian `Lab Leak' Story
#19,358 Over the past 72 hours there has been a media frenzy over a reported plague death, supposedly in a Russian laboratory worker, and th...
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Measles outbreaks could leave thousands vulnerable to infectious diseases for years. Those who survive measles experience immune amnesia and an increased susceptibility to infections. I spoke to the reporter for this article as one of the many experts interviewed. www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/meas...
cidrap.umn.edu
Measles outbreaks could leave thousands vulnerable to infectious diseases for years
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Apologies the link in OP was the link for institutional letter. Here is the link for individual letters: actionnetwork.org/letters/acti...
actionnetwork.org
Action Alert: Urge Congress to Demand Release of Overdue HIV Research NOFOs
Overview Over the past months, there have been multiple delays in ensuring that the HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks (CTNs) and Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) receive their notices to renew their ...
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
actionnetwork.org/letters/acti...
actionnetwork.org
Action Alert: Urge Congress to Demand Release of Overdue HIV Research NOFOs
Overview Over the past months, there have been multiple delays in ensuring that the HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks (CTNs) and Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) receive their notices to renew their ...
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Appropriated funding for HIV research is currently being held by HHS. Several research programs will stop if these funds are not released including clinical trials. Please take 2 mins to sign this letter and demand congress act to release these funds. savehivfunding.org/organization...
savehivfunding.org
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
And we cannot continue to deny that many children are being harmed by dangerous decisions their parents make based on rejecting science and pursuing dangerous homeopathic approaches to health and nutrition. When do child protection services step in for these cases? When does this end?
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A 17 month old infant nearly died of E coli sepsis after her mum fed her raw goat milk. The milk had been purchased from a farm recommended to her by a Facebook group run by her chiropractor. There's so much to unpack in this story. I'm glaf the kid is alive www.propublica.org/article/cali...
propublica.org
A Girl Nearly Died After Drinking Raw Milk. The State Did Little to Punish the Unlicensed Farmer Who Sold It.
California is teeming with black-market dairies, propped up by consumer demand fueled by misinformation. With evidence against one raw goat milk farm, regulators could have sought punitive action. But...
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
In people with HIV virologically suppressed on 1 pill a day BIC/TAF/FTC a switch to ISL/LEN 1 pill weekly was not inferior. Having a one pill a week treatment option for people with HIV provides an important option. PS-Does not cover HBV. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
nejm.org
Phase 3 Trial of Weekly Oral Islatravir–Lenacapavir for HIV-1 Treatment | NEJM
Once-daily, single-tablet regimens have transformed care for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1); however, challenges to adherence continue to limit effective treatment....
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Reposted by BK. Titanji
Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
People were upset when the government tried to position AIDS as an equal-opportunity disease in the 1980s. They’re at it again with an HIV plan that doesn’t mention the key populations at higher risk, incl gay men, trans women, Black & Latino people, sex workers, PWID, homeless. What’s the point?
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
What is the point is right. It's absolutely insane. You cannot eliminate HIV while erasing key populations.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This story moved me deeply. The women and girls of Afghanistan deserve the freedom to education. Their resilience and determination are inspiring but it is hard to not feel that they have been largely abandoned by the global community. www.bmj.com/content/394/...
bmj.com
Secret medical schools: How Afghanistan’s women are defying the training ban
In 2024 the Taliban banned women from training as doctors or any other kind of healthcare worker. But an underground network of trainers is keeping hopes alive for Afghanistan’s aspiring female medics...
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Fiji is experiencing an alarming HIV outbreak at a time when we have more tools than ever to diagnose, treat and prevent HIV. It is a warning that progress against HIV is not self-sustaining and to end the epidemic we cannot become complacent bktitanji.substack.com/p/hiv-is-not...
bktitanji.substack.com
HIV Is Not Done With Us
Fiji’s rapidly growing epidemic is a warning about what happens when complacency, vulnerability and retreating resources give the virus an opening
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A space to watch closely. Weakening common rule especially those around consent practices and compliance could be quite damaging for translational research. www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Will Trump administration weaken protections for human research subjects?
Ethicists are wary of an HHS proposal to loosen rules for “low-risk research”
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Modeling studies estimate that more equitable global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines could have prevented approximately 1.3 million deaths by the end of 2021. Vaccine hoarding by wealthy countries was a big contributing factor. I do not know how equity became a bad word.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"Among the “red lines” noted in the statement was technology transfer, which it said must be voluntary and on mutually agreed terms" So basically if there is another pandemic, wealthy countries want to be able to not share tech and resources even if it means people in poor countries die as a result.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A global pandemic killed an estimated 20 million people and still countries cannot agree to come together for the collective good. The US and EU objected en bloc to the UN declaration on future pandemics. www.cidrap.umn.edu/public-healt...
cidrap.umn.edu
US, EU object to UN declaration on future pandemics
The objections prevented UN member states from endorsing a political declaration that aims for better international coordination.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Thanks for all the great questions. This month's session is now closed. Until next time. Do not forget to schedule your fall vaccines!
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
But if you've already been vaccinated and wake up the next day feeling like you were hit by a truck, you do not need to suffer for science. 😅 If you normally can take ibuprofen safely, you can take it for the muscle aches, headache or fever.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Some studies with other vaccines suggested that preemptively suppressing inflammation might modestly affect the immune response, so we generally don't recommend doing that.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Yes, you can take the ibuprofen! There was a lot of discussion about this early in the COVID vaccine rollout. The concern was primarily about taking ibuprofen or Tylenol before getting vaccinated to try to prevent side effects.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
If by next gen covid vaccines you mean intranasal vaccines, none are close to market nor have any candidates been studied in phase three clinical trials. There's promising data from NHP studies though.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This one is easy. Get the shingles vaccine. It works and shingles is horribly debilitating being able to prevent it is a no brainer.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
If your last COVID vaccine was in May, you can get your next COVID vaccine with your flu shot this fall. You do not need to separate the flu and COVID vaccines. They can safely be given at the same visit, and there is no required waiting period between them.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
It has actually been studied in North America. A Canadian study of 67 women with recurrent UTIs found that about 41% remained UTI-free during the 9-month efficacy period and the overall UTI rate fell substantially compared with the year before treatment.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
But there are important caveats. It is not currently an FDA-approved vaccine in the US, and the evidence base is still relatively small compared with what I would want to see before calling this established standard of care.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The data are promising. In a randomized trial, about 56–58% of women receiving the vaccine remained UTI-free during the 9-month follow-up period, compared with 25% receiving placebo. Several observational studies have also reported substantial reductions in the number of UTIs and antibiotic use.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Yes you’re probably referring to Uromune (MV140), a sublingual bacterial immunotherapy for recurrent UTIs. It contains inactivated E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, and Enterococcus faecalis. The evidence is interesting, although I think social media gets ahead of where the data are
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I have never seen a case of maternal to fetus transmission of strongyloides but it is biologically conceivable that this could occur.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
We also now have randomized clinical trials asking a different question can a longer course of Paxlovid treat people who already have Long COVID? Those trials have not shown a meaningful clinical benefit. So I would not currently prescribe Paxlovid specifically to prevent or treat Long COVID.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
On Paxlovid and Long COVID, this is even less settled. Several observational studies have suggested that treating acute COVID with Paxlovid may reduce the subsequent risk of Long COVID, particularly in people at higher risk. Other studies have found little or no association.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
But comparative effectiveness has varied by study, vaccine formulation, circulating variant and outcome measured.In fact, recent US data found Moderna more effective than Novavax against medically attended COVID and hospitalization. So I would be cautious about declaring one platform the winner.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
On Novavax, I don't think we have convincing evidence that it is simply “superior” to mRNA vaccines. Some studies have suggested advantages for Novavax in particular settings, and it may be better tolerated for some people.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
And for anyone pregnant and reading this, the varicella vaccine is a live vaccine and should not be given during pregnancy.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
So if you have documentation that you received two appropriate doses after your first pregnancy, I would not assume from this negative titer that you failed to respond or automatically keep repeating the vaccine series.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
For that reason, we generally do NOT recommend checking varicella titers after completing the 2-dose vaccine series. Documentation of two doses is considered evidence of immunity and supersedes a subsequent negative blood test.
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