Dr. Nahid Bhadelia

BEACON Track biological threats, share vital information, and collaborate on solutions for community protection and preparedness.

Suspected Ebola virus disease case in Beni, North Kivu, DRC: Official notification by the DRC Ministry of Health on 9 March 2026

via @beaconbio.bsky.social - beaconbio.org/en/report/?r...

BEACON Track biological threats, share vital information, and collaborate on solutions for community protection and preparedness.

Request for information (RFI): Suspected Ebola virus disease case under investigation in Beni, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. via @beaconbio.bsky.social - beaconbio.org/en/report/?r...

In people age 50+, the Covid booster halved hospitalization and deaths.
Waning of benefit after 3-6 months
For the mRNA BA.1 booster vs no shot after initial vaccination
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

‘Particularly capricious’: Doctor weighs in on undermining of mRNA technology The FDA’s decision not to review Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine application “seems to be a way to discourage bringing these types of technologies to the market,” said Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, an Infectious Diseases Physician. This is the latest in a series of actions by the Trump administration that has undermined mRNA research.

The FDA’s decision not to review Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine application “seems to be a way to discourage bringing these types of technologies to the market,” says @bhadeliamd.bsky.social. #Velshi

Please join me @velshimsnow.bsky.social 10a-1p w/
@deanobeidallah.bsky.social
@mollyjongfast.bsky.social
@chrystia-freeland.bsky.social
Fred Hochberg
@mitch-landrieu.bsky.social
Jason Stanley
@bhadeliamd.bsky.social
#velshi
1/2

Exclusive: Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation Staff members have been instructed to scrub this topic and ‘biodefense’ from the agency’s website.

“Just because we say we’re going to stop caring about these issues doesn’t make the issues go away — it just makes us less prepared,” said @bhadeliamd.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exclusive: Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation Staff members have been instructed to scrub this topic and ‘biodefense’ from the agency’s website.

“Staff members at the United States’s premier infectious-disease research institute have been instructed to remove the words “biodefense” and “pandemic preparedness” from the institute’s web pages, according to e-mails Nature has obtained.”

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Trump says climate change doesn’t endanger public health – evidence shows it does, from extreme heat to mosquito-borne illnesses Climate change is making people sicker and more vulnerable to disease. Erasing the federal endangerment finding increases the risk.

The Trump administration rescinded the "endangerment finding" today, declaring that climate change doesn't harm health. They are wrong. Some evidence from me, @howardfrumkin.bsky.social, @jonathanpatz.bsky.social, and Vijay Limaye from @theconversation.com

theconversation.com/trump-says-c...

Calling all BU students pursuing research on infectious diseases, pandemic preparedness, or global health security! We're giving out two $5k grants for summer research projects related to CEID's mission. Apply by March 15th: www.bu.edu/ceid/2026/02...

A drop in CDC health alerts leaves doctors 'flying blind' Doctors and public health officials are concerned about the drop in health alerts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since President Trump returned for a second term.

The drop in the CDC's health alerts last year is concerning, @bhadeliamd.bsky.social tells @npr.org, because this type of reporting allows hospitals to be better prepared with the right types of medications & supplies, and adequate staffing.
spr.ly/63327hMUVd

😱

Want to signup for email digest of BEACON reports from only your region? You can get them weekly or daily now just like our global digest.

Following 2026 Winter Olympics? Check out this new data stream on @beaconbio.bsky.social. @buceid.bsky.social experts constructed a profile of this global gathering, providing insights into events, the participants, the host country & any Olympics related outbreaks. beaconbio.org/en/event/?ev...

BEACON Track biological threats, share vital information, and collaborate on solutions for community protection and preparedness.

There is a lot about this in media (and some misinformation). See our analysis on #Nipahvirus cases in India:

"West Bengal, India; no onward transmission of Nipah virus disease reported; regional and global risk assessed as low"

via @beaconbio.bsky.social - beaconbio.org/en/report/?r...

Bangladesh: Bat-borne pteropine orthoreovirus – first human cases of severe encephalitis, respiratory illness, and deaths, with contaminated palm sap as the suspected source
https://beaconbio.org/en/report/?reportid=2cab6ef6-b816-403a-9b09-1ce3a0681df4&utm_source=bluesky

JID: A BEACON for novel disease threats: Leveraging AI for informal event-based outbreak surveillance

Nahid Bhadelia et al bit.ly/4joYsNd @bhadeliamd.bsky.social

More than anything else, we have gained the trust of clinicians, public health workers & all of you! For 2026, my wish is that we keep hearing from you! Your input, your tips, your use of our reports in your work, makes all the hard work worth it! It is what makes BEACON a true global public good.

Leveraging LLMs and incredibly talented, committed teams of humans across multiple teams as well as subject matter experts and outbreak analysts who bring their analyses and decades of experience to every post we publish.

In early 2026, we hope to publish a longer program manuscript that describes the structure and methodology behind BEACON, our evolution over even this short time, as well as our monitoring & evaluation plans.

A BEACON for novel disease threats: Leveraging AI for informal event-based outbreak surveillance The experience of a new free disease surveillance platform shows that the integration of large language models with human expertise into event-based inform

Out today in @jidjournal.bsky.social, we share our experiences on @beaconbio.bsky.social, based at @buceid.bsky.social w partners @bucds.bsky.social @bostonchildrens.bsky.social w users in 170 countries & reports so far on over 600 outbreaks across 200 countries. academic.oup.com/jid/article/...

Best of The Brink 2025: 10 Inspiring Inventions and Impactful Ideas from Boston University Researchers From an exosuit that eases back pain to an algorithm that boosts hearing aid performance, how BU research made a difference this year

For a 4th year, our work is at the top 10 @bostonu.bsky.social research stories (tinyurl.com/3eebxjju). This year for @beaconbio.bsky.social led by @bhadeliamd.bsky.social, run by @buceid.bsky.social, in collaboration with @buhaririinstitute.bsky.social and a @bostonchildrens.bsky.social team.

The ignorance and data denialism of FDA intent of putting a black box on Covid vaccines when the evidence of benefit is overwhelming, even among children
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

This Giving Tuesday, please consider making a donation to support CEID's work toward strengthening infectious disease policy and research. Your support helps us continue programs like @beaconbio.bsky.social to more rapidly identify emerging infectious disease threats.
give.bu.edu/campaigns/50...

Decades of rigorous and scientifically sound research have proven that vaccines do not cause autism. CDC’s decision to change language on its website reversing that finding is reckless & harmful.

Our statement w/ @hivma.bsky.social, APIC, @sheaepi.bsky.social & @sidpharm.bsky.social: bit.ly/3XEc0KH

Request for information (RFI): Eight suspected hemorrhagic fever cases reported in Jinka, South Ethiopia. RFI on diagnostic testing results, symptoms and common exposures beaconbio.org/en/report/?r... via @beaconbio.bsky.social

map showing locations of anthrax cases across Spain

Have you used the new map feature now at the top of BEACON events and reports? This new feature is designed to give our users greater geographical context about the diseases we're reporting on. Learn more about this new feature here: spr.ly/633277Hyv5

Wonderful to be able to bring @beaconbio.bsky.social to IDweek.

Great to hear from many they are already using it! We put so much labor of love into BEACON @buceid.bsky.social that when we hear it is useful to people, it makes all the nights & weekends worth it! Share with us how you use BEACON!

WHO warns of surging levels of antibiotic resistance One in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections are resistant to antibiotic treatments, the World Health Organization said on Monday, calling for the medicines to be used more responsibly.

"One in six lab-confirmed bacterial infections are resistant to antibiotic treatments, the WHO said...[Resistance] rose in around 40% of samples monitored, between 2016-2023."

WHO warns of surging levels of antibiotic resistance www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Biothreats Emergence, Analysis & Communications (BEACON) @beaconbio.bsky.social is represented at the World Health Summit this week in Berlin!

www.beaconbio.org

(with a special thanks to our colleagues at @who.int Pandemic Hub).