iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

No more conference spam from me for now! Back to the real world tomorrow.

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Dr K Plain 🗣️ RE prelim results of a preclin #Qfever vax 🇦🇺 QVAX in Australia but sig. downsides 🆕 QF o-spec polysacc. LPS conjugated to a tetanus toxoid w/ alum adj 💉 Dose ranging in guinea 🐖 find 3x doses equiv to QVAX 🧪 Elicits IGRA response #qfig #onehealth #idsky @qfig.bsky.social

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More #Qfever #onehealth - Prof L Epelboin talks about the French Guiana experience. 🌎 Highest rates (~30/100k yearly) globally 😷 Driven by virulent MST17 strain 🧢 QF causes 25% of CAP in Cayenne & worst in E euro. ethnic. 🦥 Outbreaks linked to sloths and capybara #qfig #IDsky @qfig.bsky.social

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Space for Cycling Brisbane @space4cyclingbne.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

A/Prof A Bosward talks #onehealth and #Qfever in dairy 🐄. Shows that: ⛽ Cows (& others) are an important reservoir of QF w/ regional clusters 🤒 Infected cows are less productive (longer gestations & 2.4L less 🥛/🐄/🌅) Advocates for Australian uptake of animal QF vax. #qfig @qfig.bsky.social #vetsky

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Reposted by Stuart Campbell

Thank you to everyone who came along to the march asking for a dedicated lane on the Story Bridge for walking, cycling and micromobility.

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Dr Horvath et al outlined a diagnostic stewardship intervention for #qfever PCR (w/ compat. clin. synd.) 'TLC for Q': 🍽️ Thrombocytopenia, 🥩 raised LFTs 🎈 raised CRP assoc w/ increase PCR+ in acute QF. Machine learning algorithm found 85% sens, 65% spec. #IDsky #Qfig @qfig.bsky.social

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Dr L Taege 🗣️ unpub data RE: placental histo findings w/ #Qfever assoc stillbirth. Only 9 cases prev, this adds another 10 cases. 🔍 Varied degrees of inflam, necrosis, infarcts 🐥 Untreated assoc w/ 2nd trimester IUD, partial Rx pre-term delivery, full Rx no foetal effects #Qfig @qfig.bsky.social

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Prof J Robson 📣 #qfever diagnostics ❌ Serologies 🔀 w/ other inf. dis 🌈 Diverse testing methods & thresholds 🥼 Hazardous to culture 🧬 PCR not sens for chronic dis. (good in acute) 🎩 Metagenomics coming, use case TBC 💉 IGRA developed, needs validation #QFig

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Next up at the #QFIG, Dr R Norton outlines some ➕ & ➖ 4 controversies in #qfever: 🩸Monitoring & Rx of elevated ph 1 IgG w/ no sx. 🚱 Post acute monitoring w/ pros valves 🔍 Role of routine TTE in acute QF follow up 💊 Role for HCQ combo Rx with doxy for Rx of QF endocarditis Split opinions! #idsky

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josh farkas 💊 @pulmcrit.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

From #QFIG symposium in Byron Bay, Prof S Graves starts out the meeting with a #qfever history lesson, including this (published) poem about North Queensland fevers from 1957

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Reposted by Stuart Campbell

this is loony tunes. vaccine? woah woah woah! we need more huge RCTs. drug approval? no sweat! we’ll just ask ChatGPT.

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Reposted by Stuart Campbell

dee_le_brun @deelebrun.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

Scott Morrison Companion of the Order of Australia for his service to the nation. #ScottMorrison #auspol #robodebt #corruption #FFS

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Reposted by Stuart Campbell

Johan Van Weyenbergh @johanvawe.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

After >10 years of hard work by several teams worldwide, I'm proud to present our global #multi-omic study providing novel insights into the genetic, immunological, and metabolic underpinnings of HAM ( #HTLV-1 associated myelopathy) www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-5...

researchsquare.com

Multi-cohort cross-omics analysis reveals disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets in HTLV-1-associated myelopathy, a neglected retroviral neuroinflammatory disorder

HTLV-1 is an enigmatic retrovirus triggering a debilitating neuroinflammatory disease, HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (HAM), with unknown pathogenesis. Both HTLV-1 infection and HAM predominantly affect...

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Patient Stories — LISSSD 2025

I said no more #LISSSD25 posts but forgot a major highlight! Most sessions started w/ a patient lived experience video, and you can see them all @ lisssd2025.org/patient-stories Looking after patients during thier illnesses is v. stressful so it's great to hear their experiences when recovered.

lisssd2025.org

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🏁 No more strep posts from me for the next little while - though I'm going to #QFIG in a couple of weeks. Hopefully some useful tidbits in what I posted! Please send feedback etc about what works and what doesn't! It was fun and I think the act of writing made me appreciate the talks more.

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Prof M Good & A/Prof M Pandey close #LISSSD25 thanking all the local committee, scientific advisory committee (led by Dr T Lamagni & @joshosowicki.bsky.social), presenters, and delegates. Prof A Steer announces #LISSSD28 is to be held in 📌 Limassol, Cyprus 🇨🇾 2028

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Last of the #LISSSD25 presentations is Prof Victor Nizet imploring the community to think like streptococci in these times of authoritarianism USA anti-science 🍇 Evade host immunity (cont to do work) 🍇 Form biofilms (network) 🍇 Colonise diverse hosts (expand skill sets) #strep #idsky

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Prof M Voysey presents some prelim results of a prospective GBS infect. cohort 🧮 101 early & 67 late iGBS vs 286 GBS colonised but not infected ctrl 🚼 Birth weight of late < early < ctrl 3️⃣ Serotype III most common, esp in late onset dis. #LISSSD25 #gbs #clinmicro

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Dr K Gibney flys the flag for 🦘 clin trials by 🎺 ISAAC 🔎 at Abx prophylaxis of close iGAS contacts (enrolling soon) STRAP 🔎 backbone Abx, adjunctive Abx, and IVIg (enrolling 2026ish) Only enrolling in Aus for now but looking for int. collab. #LISSSD25 #idsky #clinicaltrials #strep

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Dr O Xie has an entertaining talk on S. dys subsp eq [SDSE] 🐴 iSDSE has similar incidence and mortality v iGAS 🐎 Less genomic clustering in SDSE 🫏 Global dissemination iSDSE driven by stG62647-lineage #LISSSD25 #clinmicro #idsky

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I wish we had paid parking in New Farm... Street is just car, caravan, trailer storage

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PhD cand. J Iwasaki talks about mechanism behind strep throat recurrence. 👅 ~15% strep throat relapse 👅 Relapse strains can persist in ⬆️ [pen] 👅 Intracellular persistence in strep intracell. comm. [SIC] 👅 SICs are L-switch'd to lack cell wall hence recur post Pen Rx #LISSSD25 #clinmicro

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Another AUROC: L Carlton presents a possible ARF biomarker id'd from a series of bead array exp using START cohort samples. Most accurate candidate TRAFIP with AUROC 0.79 solo or upto 0.845 in combo w/ other biomarkers. Coming to a revised-revised Jones criteria? #LISSSD25 #idsky

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Dr C Menendez presents cool data 🔍 for a neural auto Ab in PANDAS / Syd. chorea. 🧠 Prev work id'd auto abs to neural dopamine receptors (anti-D1R & D2R) 🧠 Accessed 4x PANDAS/SC cohorts to validate 🧠 Good AUROC in all cohorts & better in pred. movement disorder #LISSSD25 #idsky

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Prof N Ketheesan outlines his labs use of the Lewis rat model to explore RHD/ARF. 🐀 rM5 protein induces carditis & myocarditis, PR sensitive test 🐀 Sera & Tcells transfused to nin-exposed replicate disease. 🐀 Repeated exposures result in RHD phenotype w/ varied ab response. #LISSSD25

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Prof N Moreland from NZ speaks through the ARF perturbed immune response in ARF. 🌍 All strep A serotypes assoc w/ ARF in NZ 🌍 Increased IgG3 ab phenotpes 🌍 Immune infiltration valves incl plasma cells. 🌍 DIifferences in immue activation in acute & chronic RHD #LISSSD25

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Dr J Hart & team on validating clinical decision rules for strep throat: 🌹 Fiji rule (sore throat & neither coryza or hoarseness) is no better than chance. 🚫 No other algorithm tested is any better! Underscores urgent need for POC diagnostics in these settings. #LISSSD25 #idsky

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@earmitage.bsky.social leverages the SpyCATS platform to investigate WASH facilities on Strep A infection incidence ⬇️ w/ handwashing, freq. clothes changing, good wound care, access to soap. Limited by no wealth data & small sub-group but options for interventions identified. #LISSSD25

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Dr K Doran presents interactions between C alb & GBS in the vaginal tract w/ some nifty models and clinical datasets 🦠 GBS & C alb increased in vaginal dysbiosis 🦠 C alb forms biofilm & GBS colonises 🦠 In the biofilm GBS is more antibiotic resistant & virulent (CovR) #LISSSD25 #clinmicro

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More cool penicillin data - A/Prof J Bennett presents NZ data for subcut BenPen for RHD/ARF 💉 Penicillin >20ng/mL for 56d & >10ng/mL for 70d 💉 Worked better in ⬆️ BMI 💉 No breakthrough infections 😊 Highly accepted - only 1 pt switched back to IM BenPen #LISSSD25 #idsky

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A/Prof Laurens Manning presents a human challenge study looking to define penicillin MIC to prevent strep throat. 💊 ~9ng/mL penicillin (lower then standard threshold 20ng/mL) prevents clinical strep throat and systemic inflammation as measured by CRP. #LISSSD25 #idsky

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