Katharine S. Walter

Tuberculosis in the Americas: a worsening crisis amid genomic surveillance gaps In 2023, tuberculosis (TB) returned as the leading infectious disease killer, after falling behind COVID-19 during the pandemic. An estimated 1.25 million lives were lost and 8.2 million new TB cases ...

Together with @katwalter.bsky.social, we recently published in @lancetrh-americ.bsky.social a piece highlighting the urgent need for coordinated genomic surveillance of tuberculosis as the situation worsens across the Americas. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

These Dis-United States The country and the nation: Fifty writers and artists report on the states of our dis-union.

I’m honored to be part of @thenation.com's 160th anniversary issue, These Dis-United States! Writing in from Utah, this wondrous, wild, and complicated state.

St. George’s growth is kicking up the fungus that causes valley fever “This major excavation of soil that is happening right now to create luxury developments, to create golf courses — that is also creating tremendous dust exposures,” said University of Utah epidemiolog...

I had a great time talking with @davidcondos.bsky.social about how the rapid development of St. George and encroachment into fragile desert habitats is creating intense dusk exposures, including exposures to the Valley fever fungus. www.kuer.org/health/2025-...

Postdoc (Salt Lake City, USA)
Genomics and transmission of M. tuberculosis
with @katwalter.bsky.social
at @utah.edu
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2306

Are you interested in TB, genomics, and transmission? We're looking for a postdoc to join our lab, in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/181... @utah-idd.bsky.social @tbjournalclub.bsky.social @epijobs.bsky.social

StopTB has a new report estimating the impact of the foreign aid freeze.

It's useful to understand the huge impact that global health efforts have everyday, and worrying. Some highlights... 🧵

Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) Overview | Immunize.org| Immunize.org Find materials on legal requirements to give VISs to patients before vaccinating.

Vaccines and immunization fact sheets you can't find on CDC website anymore are archived at the link below. May be helpful to bookmark this for future reference.
www.immunize.org/vaccines/vis...

CDC removes data on sexual orientation, gender identity from website Data from an expansive federal survey on youth behavioral habits, including their sexual orientation and gender identity, have been removed from the website of the CDC.

The CDC is removing data sets that researchers widely rely upon because they include information on sexual orientation and gender identity. “It feels like they’re trying to will us out of existence,” one researcher tells @theresagaff.bsky.social:

www.statnews.com/2025/01/31/c...

Voices: We’re infectious disease experts. RFK Jr. would put all our health at risk. “A vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would take America back to a troubling era when countless children suffered and died from horrific infections, leaving many with lifelong disabilities,” write Susana ...

I am with dozens of Utah scientists, healthcare providers, and educators who urge Senators Lee and Curtis to vote no on RFK’s dangerous nomination. The health of Utahns and Americans is at risk. www.sltrib.com/opinion/comm...
@sltrib.com @gregggonsalves.bsky.social

Voices: We’re infectious disease experts. RFK Jr. would put all our health at risk. “A vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would take America back to a troubling era when countless children suffered and died from horrific infections, leaving many with lifelong disabilities,” write Susana ...

Wow! Susana Keeshin and Katie Walter (my former classmate at @yalesph.bsky.social) call on Utah Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis to reject the nomination of #RFK Jr. for #HHS Secretary. www.sltrib.com/opinion/comm...

Happy to see this work led by @katwalter.bsky.social out! In #TB outbreaks & high transmission settings, we often see many Mtb genomes that are identical or have 1-2 SNVs. Katharine asked whether we could leverage within host diversity & shared minority variants to better link transmission pairs.

The Making Of A New American Epidemic | NOEMA Unchecked development is encroaching into parched desert landscapes and kicking up more than just a little dust — it’s raising the risk of a mysterious new infection.

I wrote about the transformation of parched Mojave Desert landscapes into luxury golf courses and master-planned communities—and the rise of Valley fever www.noemamag.com/the-making-o...