iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

In work led by Ben Pinksy, Grant Higerd-Rusli, Matthew Hernandez & @abraarkaran.bsky.social, in @thelancet.bsky.social, we describe the importance of testing a broader range of people for #H5N1 bird flu in order to check for potentially hidden spread & new routes of transmission t.co/yZeHRcUV65

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Ewen Callaway @ecallaway.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

After 5 years, 150k papers and 17 million genomes, here's what we learned about SARS-CoV-2 and viruses in general. It holds lessons for future pandemics - only if we listen. "We’re in a worse place in terms of pandemic prevention" @eddieholmes.bsky.social told me. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

Four ways COVID changed virology: lessons from the most sequenced virus of all time

After 150,000 articles and 17 million genome sequences, what has science taught us about SARS-CoV-2?

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Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

"I know how lethal Donald Trump’s assault on America’s outbreak preparedness could be. We are sure to regret it," warns @craigspencer.bsky.social @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

theatlantic.com

The Diseases Are Coming

Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn government tear will have lasting effects on global health.

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Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 08/03/2025

NEW: As measles cases rise in Texas, pharmacies in some cities are running out of MMR vaccines. The surge in demand comes even as RFK Jr. and the CDC frame vaccination as a "personal" choice — my latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

theguardian.com

Texas cities run short of MMR vaccine as measles outbreak drives demand

Pharmacies are struggling with supplies as fatal outbreak expands and health secretary sows disinformation

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

These unanticipated, abrupt & cruel funding cuts will cost lives Ebola outbreaks demand diligent & meticulous tracking of transmission chains Even small lapses can allow spread to escalate dramatically & become hidden in ways that can take months to regain a grip on

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Stephanie Nolen @stephanienolen.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

A leaked recording shows that American officials fear the spread of Ebola in Uganda and beyond, because of the Trump cuts in foreign aid www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/h...

nytimes.com

As Ebola Spreads in Uganda, Trump Aid Freeze Hinders Effort to Contain It, U.S. Officials Fear (Gift Article)

Two more people are reported dead from the disease, and dozens are in isolation, as the outbreak grows.

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Exactly - this study would be needless, wasteful & ridiculous, but, even more so, treacherous Given how this admin operates, there is a real risk it will pressure, doctor or falsify results to imply risks & links that are not real & then use that to undermine safe & proven vaccines

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

I recently read accounts of the plague & it was jarring just how much it shaped & redefined social order/life in that era Covid had a fraction of that impact but it’s fallout still fuels much of what happens now A more severe pandemic is something we need to be doing more to prevent

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Infectious Diseases @infectiousdz.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

In a measles outbreak, children as young as 6 months can be vaccinated early and then vaccinated again per the regular schedule. This is an extra vaccine and does not count towards the two they should have. publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/what-to...

publichealth.jhu.edu

What to Know About Measles and Vaccines | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Experts worry that misinformation and falling vaccination rates could cause measles outbreaks to become more common in the U.S.

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Dr. @gavinyamey.bsky.social & I highlight the serious risks of the U.S. withdrawing from the WHO,both for American & global health security. When the WHO is supported, the world benefits. In the face of rising infectious & chronic disease threats, we need solidarity, not isolation. #GlobalSolidarity

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Cool paper from Florian Kramer & colleagues about a novel feature of circulating H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4. These viruses have a longer stalk in their neuraminidase (NA) enzyme, a key viral protein. This was not seen in past H5N1 strains (2002-2019) Why does it matter?🧪 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

journals.asm.org

Clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 neuraminidase has a long stalk, which is in contrast to most highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses circulating between 2002 and 2020 | mBio

While the truncated version of the N1 neuraminidase stalk domain may be associated with increased virulence in poultry, the long version of the stalk domain has been associated with increased transmis...

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Infectious Diseases @infectiousdz.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Measles in US in 2025 164 cases Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island, Texas Most children, some too young to be vaccinated 82% under age 20 Vaccination Status Unvaccinated or Unknown: 95% 1 MMR: 3% 2 MMR: 2% www.cdc.gov/measles/data... 🧵

Map is not up to date, RI, NY, WA not updated

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Alexander Tin @alexander-a-tin.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

In case you missed it, from Dr Mike Ryan at today's WHO press conference on those unexplained deaths in DRC "very limited in geography" "strong level of suspicion of a poisoning event related to the poisoning of a water source" tinalexander.github.io/notes/2025/0...

A screenshot of text that reads in part: "Our current assessment of the situation is that what we have is a fairly limited in time and very limited in geography cluster of unusual deaths. It has been proven negative for hemorrhagic fevers. Other samples have been taken, a systematic investigation, looking at all the suspect, even the extremely suspect suspect cases, has been done. And there clearly is, based on onset of symptomatology to death, it looks and appears very much more like a toxic type of event, either from a biologic perspective, like a meningitis or from a chemical exposure. And there have been– there is some indication now from the authorities that there’s a very strong level of suspicion of a poisoning event related to the poisoning of a water source, in relation to that specific village. So that’s under investigation by the appropriate authorities in country. We will continue to investigate. Clearly, and it’s something that, our press officer here at ECA mentioned to me many times, that we are very concerned about these events until we prove that there’s a mixed epidemiology and that many people are dying of malaria and other diseases."

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Linsey Marr @linseymarr.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Half of Covid-19 patients emitted infectious virus in respiratory particles smaller than 5 microns (>30 min to settle out). Culturability of aerosols was associated with lower neutralizing antibody titers, so immune response matters for transmission potential. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

Frequency, kinetics and determinants of viable SARS-CoV-2 in bioaerosols from ambulatory COVID-19 patients infected with the Beta, Delta or Omicron variants - Nature Communications

SARS-CoV-2 can be spread by aerosols. Here the authors show that between 50-60% of ambulatory COVID-19 patients exhale culturable virus and that this is associated with lower neutralizing antibody tit...

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Measles is an outlier in terms of contagiousness & markedly more contagious than even the most contagious Covid variant Some affected areas seem to have pockets with markedly low vax rates It will be difficult to prevent onward spread in these areas without mass catch-up vaccination

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

The clear response *should* be to urgently engage communities on the need & safety of vaccination Measles is super contagious - the avg infectious person infects ~12-18 people For the most contagious Covid variant, it was ~9-12 Other measures likely won't be enough to stop this outbreak (1/3)

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

I commend every parent who is choosing to do the right thing by vaccinating their child as the measles outbreak spreads. There's no shame in changing your mind on a stance you were wrong about. Especially when it concerns protecting children from disease. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

nbcnews.com

As Texas measles outbreak grows, parents are choosing to vaccinate kids

At least 124 people, mostly babies, children and teens, have been infected. Eighteen people have been hospitalized.

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Infectious Diseases @infectiousdz.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Samples have been sent further afield for testing. For now WHO only reports "Metagenomic sequencing and additional investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of illness and deaths in the two health zones".

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

It seems like metagenomic next-gen sequencing akin to what Charles Chiu @ucsfhealth.bsky.social does could help pinpoint the culprit pathogen Has this been tried? If not, an issue of sample preservation & transport? Limits of detection with certain sample types? In 2025, this is a solvable problem

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Abraar Karan, MD, MS, MPH, DTM&H @abraarkaran.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

Our commentary in Nature on immediate steps to combat the #H5N1 bird flu outbreak. @ranudhillon.bsky.social @sri-srikrishna.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

If H5N1 evolves to spread between people, it could spur a pandemic In @naturemedicine.bsky.social, @sri-srikrishna.bsky.social Robert Garry @abraarkaran.bsky.social & I discuss the mutations it may take for this to happen & what we could do now to stop it & be prepared in case it does rdcu.be/ea153

rdcu.be

Steps to prevent and respond to an H5N1 epidemic in the USA

Nature Medicine - Steps should be taken now to prevent an epidemic of H5N1 in humans and prepare for an outbreak should it occur.

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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

#USDA has confirmed that the discovery of #H5N1 #birdflu in Arizona — found through bulk milk testing — does indeed represent a new spillover from wild birds into cows. This is the third time this has been observed to have happened. www.aphis.usda.gov/news/program...

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Many people have asked me how can they best stay informed and protect their health while we navigate the indefinite pause on communications from NIH, CDC, & FDA. Here’s a thread on concrete steps YOU can take to protect yourself & your community. 🧵

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Tom Peacock @peacockflu.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

so both receptor binding changes and polymerase changes would be needed to go pandemic (as well as ph stability to allow efficient airborne transmissibility). The cattle viruses already have polymerase changes that are equivalent to E627K though.

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Even while waiting on the pathogen’s identity, we should quickly discern how it spreads & immediately take steps to stop transmission Biophysical approaches to impede the few potential modes of transmission don’t require the pathogen-specific info needed for biochemical measures (eg, tests, drugs)

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

This is a good but still inadequate & too slow step in the right direction We need to just scale what Colorado’s been doing nationwide & quickly uncover where viral circulation is & use isolation to get it cleared We should’ve done that from the get-go ~9 months ago www.usda.gov/media/press-...

usda.gov

USDA Announces New Federal Order, Begins National Milk Testing Strategy to Address H5N1 in Dairy Herds

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2024 - Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing the start of its National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS), w...

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Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

This is an interesting tidbit because it shows that these types of mutations already exist out in "the wild". Does the fact that we found Q226L in a mouse on a farm back in June of this year change the threat picture of H5N1? No, it does not, but we're playing a numbers game. I would rather not.

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Lots to learn about this deadly mystery disease in DRC Discerning how it is spreading - even if its identity is still being investigated - should be a priority Knowing this could inform immediate steps to slow transmission even while other details are figured out

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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Scientists who have studied #H5N1 #birdflu for years are flummoxed by the lack of severe cases among the 55 human cases the US has confirmed this year. I talked to lots to explore the theories of what's going on. www.statnews.com/2024/12/02/b...

statnews.com

Scientists confront a mystery: Why have U.S. bird flu cases been so mild?

The H5N1 bird flu outbreak in the U.S. has so far been shockingly mild. Researchers have some theories as to why.

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Abraar Karan, MD, MS, MPH, DTM&H @abraarkaran.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Understanding how transmission occurred is necessary for prevention. Sometimes it may be a very rare pathway that may not occur again & is never elucidated (“freak accident”) but it could also be something we aren’t thinking of with higher risk of recurrence. #H5N1

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Ranu Dhillon @ranudhillon.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

In light of recent H5N1 news, a 🧵 on what we should be doing to respond Whether H5N1 causes an epidemic hinges on if current strains evolve for efficient spread and more pathogenicity among humans This may never happen or could happen next week & abruptly spur a major global crisis (1/10)

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Seye Abimbola @seyeabimbola.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

I'm happy to announce that my book, "The Foreign Gaze: Essays on Global Health", is now out! You can order the print copy and download the e-copy (open access) here: www.editions.ird.fr/produit/728/... The book comes with a playlist for your listening pleasure: open.spotify.com/playlist/5K5...

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