There's a common misconception that zoonotic viruses require significant adaptation to jump from animals to cause human epidemics.
Not so 👇.
Further, we see clear signs of 1977 flu experiencing cell passage, prior to epidemic.
SARS-CoV-2? Business as usual.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
New OFFLU statement: "Global overview of the spread and impact of H5 clade 2.3.4.4b HPAI virus in wildlife, 2020-2024." This variant of avian influenza virus has shown unprecedented geographic expansion in wildlife in recent years. @fao.org @woahglobal.bsky.social 1/3
offlu.org/publications...
Interested in learning outbreak analytics and modelling, with a focus on real-life case studies and tools actively used in responses?
Apply for the popular @lshtm.bsky.social R shortcourse, led by @jwlambert.bsky.social & @andreevallecam.bsky.social
More: www.lshtm.ac.uk/study/course...
Any opportunity to attend in an auditing capacity? 😅
Delighted to have contributed a tiny part to this great piece of work! Lovely to see it released. 🐨
Two things can be true:
1. FDA’s handling of Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine review raises process questions
2. The data themselves were underwhelming
Here's my take, finishing up with perhaps the biggest disappointment -- it's a hit on pandemic preparedness.
blogs.nejm.org/hiv-id-obser...
Something very different and cool for my lab. Sequencing a 4.4mb TB genome using the Artic-style PCR amplicon method with >5128 primers in two reactions 🤯
Enables culture-free WGS for TB!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
🧵 New preprint! Our 4-lab team evolved Streptococcus pneumoniae in antibiotic-treated mice of varying immune states and discovered something surprising: bacteria rarely evolved resistance. Instead, they found a different way to survive — by rewiring RNA turnover.
🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Population immunity to clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 is dominated by anti-neuraminidase
antibodies
«we determined that human sera contain widespread, functional antibodies targeting H5N1 neuraminidase, which correlate with virus neutralization…»
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
#H5N1
How do we protect wildlife from HPAI? Here, King Penguins vaxxed w self-amplifying mRNA 2344b H5 vaccine. Chicks followed for 250 days - good immune responses, no adverse effects. Good to see trials like this, protect species of conservation concern.
👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A figure from the paper that provides an overview of available culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches for characterizing the human gut virome. Both culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches should be used to study the gut virome. At the bench, many protocols have been adapted to enrich viruses in a sample and isolate them using a sensitive host. Once a virus is isolated, various assays can be used to characterize how the virus interacts with its bacterial host. On the command line, viral genomes can be predicted and viral taxonomy can be identified within a sample. Once procured, multiple tools can be used to annotate viral genomes for predicted gene content and viral lifestyle and predict bacterial host taxonomy.
It's increasingly clear that commensal viruses play important roles in human health, but how do you study them?
Our review "Tools and approaches to study the human gut virome: from the bench to bioinformatics" is out today in mSystems! journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
@haleybiont.bsky.social
5 more dairy cows tested positive for #H5N1 #birdflu antibodies on the Dutch farm where a previous cow tested positive. No surprise that if 1 was positive, others would be too. This dairy farm is the first outside the US to report H5N1 transmission. www-melkvee-nl.translate.goog/artikel/1450...
🎧 At min 8 @alibat.bsky.social explains why #NipahVIrus isn't a pandemic threat 🦇
1️⃣ Infection contracted by consuming fruit/sap contaminated with bat saliva/urine
2️⃣ h2h spread is difficult
3️⃣ The Indian West Bengal outbreak is contained
4️⃣ Nipah‑carrying bats aren’t found in Australia
bit.ly/4ka9pTg
They have now replied and I am confident these are real registered veterinarians in MN.
Also this Reddit post. www.reddit.com/r/Minneapoli...
Although again, not personally verified.
I've sent an email to try to get independent verification. I received this from someone with strong connections to Minneapolis who assures me it's legit and I personally trust her. But I have not yet got independent verification so I understand why people will/should be cautious.
A flyer offering in-home veterinary services for those unable to leave their home due to ICE
Please share widely
Read this week's Transmission for the latest on Measles, H5N1, Nipah Virus, Influenza, Mpox, and more!
Read here: www.unmc.edu/healthsecuri...
#measles #h5n1 #mpox #nipahvirus #influenza
This is the large domino, with the small domino being some random quack in the UK in 1998 trying to undermine the existing MMR vaccine so his business partner can swoop in with his own. Instead he lost his work credentials and now kids are dying needlessly all over the world, so great job everyone.
A beautiful and haunting piece by Ali Hoeger on how the Twin Cities occupation is impacting public health through fear, food insecurity, and trauma. 💔
www.croakey.org/inside-the-p...
Love microbes & omics? 🦠🧬
We’re hiring a Postdoc in Public Health Genomics at @unibirmingham.bsky.social
Work on cutting-edge research with wonderful people! @wvschaik.bsky.social @halllab.bsky.social @pathogenomenick.bsky.social @scalene.bsky.social @alanmcn1.bsky.social
📅 Closes 4th Feb
🌍 “Tackling AMR through a One Health approach” is LIVE.
Marking #OneHealthAwarenessWeek, this session explores the drivers of AMR across human, animal, and environmental health — and the urgent need for coordinated action.
Join now: tinyurl.com/476msxx2
#AMR #OneHealth @sabihaessack.bsky.social
Post 71 — H5N1: wild birds are not just vectors, they are the system
The current H5N1 panzootic can no longer be explained as a series of isolated outbreaks. Recent evidence reveals an integrated ecological system in which wild birds shape viral persistence, evolution, and global spread. 1/11
Clade 2.3.4.4b HPAI H5N1 🦠 replicates in human cerebral organoids, targets neurons/astrocytes, but shows lower cell death & inflammation than historical clade 1, suggesting less neuropathogenicity.
#idsky
📢Health alert: #JapaneseEncephalitis virus detected in mosquitos in rural Victoria (Horsham), the first detection in the 2025/26 season
Protect yourself:
✔️ Repellent
✔️ Cover up
✔️ Avoid dawn/dusk bites
Free vaccine for high-risk groups
More info: bit.ly/4omYE0l
Mexico, Sept 2025, detection of 2344b H5N2 in a human patient. Reassortant bw 2344b H5N1 and LPAI H5N2 viruses circulating in Mexico.
👉 www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
I was just thinking the other day that this year would be a good year to re-do all my virus snowflakes! ❄️
Title slide with text: A guide to writing good code for the busy scientist Black text over stripey pale brown-green background
If you missed my talk but still want some tips for writing good code for scientists, my slides are here:
daxkellie.quarto.pub/a-guide-to-w...
All the links and references are there too in case you want to see more! 😀🧪🌏
#ESA2025 #rstats #quartopub
🚨 2 PhD opportunities under Wessex One Health to join my group & work on:
1. Integrating bat and fungal pathogen ecology to understand epidemiology
2. AI-augmented metagenomics to map British bat virome and assess zoonotic potential
Deadline 26 January 2026 🦇🧪🦠🌍🌐
www.surrey.ac.uk/wessex-one-h...
