This Week in Virology – Details, episodes & analysis

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin and Vincent Racaniello record from the ASTMH meeting in Toronto and discuss continuing avian flu outbreaks, the continued global measles outbreak, the effectiveness of high and low doses of the influenza vaccine before Dr. Griffin deep dives into recent statistics on the measles epidemic, RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, Johns Hopkins measles tracker, children hospitalizations following COVID-19 and influenza vaccination, where to find PEMGARDA, how to access and pay for Paxlovid, long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.

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• Five new avian flu outbreaks confirmed in ducks, turkeys in 3 US states (CIDRAP)
• Confirmation of highly pathogenic Avian Influenza in Commercial and Backyard flocks (USDA: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service)
• Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan)
• Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)
• Tracking Measles Cases in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins)
• Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg)
• Weekly measles and rubella monitoring (Government of Canada)
• Measles (WHO)
• Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health)
• Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
• Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
• Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC)
• Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC)
• Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
• Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)
• Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts (ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)
• Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)
• Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
• US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
• Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
• Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView)
• ACIP Recommendations Summary (CDC: Influenza)
• Effectiveness of high-dose influenza vaccine against hospitalisations in older adults (FLUNITY-HD) (LANCET)
• Relative effectiveness of the high-dose versus standard-dose influenza vaccines for the prevention of laboratory-confirmed influenza among Italian older adults during three recent seasons (International Journal of Infectious Diseases)
• Influenza Vaccine Composition for the 2025-2026 U.S. Influenza Season (FDA)
• RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
• Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
• US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
• RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)
• Long-term impact of nirsevimab on prevention of respiratory syncytial virus infection using a real-word global database (Journal of Infection)
• Vaccines for Adults (CDC: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV))
• Economic Analysis of Protein Subunit and mRNA RSV Vaccination in Adults aged 50-59 Years (CDC: ACIP)
• Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
• COVID-19 deaths (CDC)
• Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel (CDC: Respiratory Illnesses)
• COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)
• COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)
• SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)
• Antigenic and Virological Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2, XFG, and NB.1.8.1 (bioRxiV)
• COVID-19 and influenza deaths in Australian children 2018-2023: a national case analysis (Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society)
• Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
• EUA for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)
• Infusion center (Prime Fusions)
• CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
• NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
• Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
• Help your eligible patients access PAXLOVID with the PAXCESS Patient Support Program (Pfizer Pro)
• Understanding Coverage Options (PAXCESS)
• Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
• Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
• Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
• What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)
• Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
• Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)
• Daniel Griffin's evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID)
• Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center)
• The answers: Long COVID Reaching out to US house representative
• Letters read on TWiV 1270
• Dr. Griffin's COVID treatment summary (pdf)
• Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV reviews the passing of James D. Watson, the research that showed human papillomaviruses to be present in genital and laryngeal papillomas and in some cervical cancers, and influenza virus infection, shedding and symptoms in a human challenge study.

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• Support science education at MicrobeTV
• Immune 100 live at the Incubator
• James D. Watson dies (NY Times)
• Russian translation of TWiV 1024 (Medium)
• Canada's new budget aims to lure US researchers (Science)
• Bird flu surging and spreading while US agencies are asleep (npr)
• US slashed WHO budget, now flu surveillance is suffering globally (npr)
• HPV sequences in papillomas and cervical cancers (PNAS)
• zur Hausen Nobel Prize 2008 (Nobel)
• Vincent interviews zur Hausen (YouTube)
• Influenza virus infection, shedding, and disease in humans (J Virol)
• Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Brianne – Pandemic board game
Rich – Whiskey Fungus Fed by Jack Daniel's Encrusts a Tennessee Town
Alan – Rats can snatch bats out of the air and eat them
Vincent – 7 basic science discoveries that changed the world

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin with Vincent Racaniello chat about Jane Goodall's death and the Nobel prize in Physiology/Medicine for understanding immune system control before Dr. Griffin deep dives into recent statistics on the measles epidemic, RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, Johns Hopkins measles tracker, if 2 doses of the influenza vaccine are better for protection of first season children, if COVID-19 negatively impacts pregnancy and the unborn child, efficacy of long-acting monoclonal antibody against symptomatic COVID-19, where to find PEMGARDA, how to access and pay for Paxlovid, can you be retreated with Paxlovid, long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, long COVID in pediatrics, association of COVID-19 with new-onset vascular dementia and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.

Become a patron of TWiV!

• Jane Goodall's legacy: three ways she changed science (Nature)
• They understood how the immune system is kept in check (The Nobel Prize)
• Daniel Griffin: The Nobel Prize for Understanding Autoimmune Disease (WNYC: New York Public Radio)
• Kennedy's Ties to Ally Leading Vaccine Lawsuits Raise Ethical Concerns (NY Times)
• Ebola outbreak in southern Congo shows signs of containment with no new cases, WHO reports (AP News)
• Ebola Disease (WHO: African Region)
• Premature baby dies from measles in Alberta as cases throughout province near 2,000(Global News)
• DOH Issues Advisory After Measles Detection in City of Oswego Wastewater (Finger lakes dailynew.com)
• Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan)
• Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)
• Tracking Measles Cases in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins)
• Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg)
• Weekly measles and rubella monitoring (Government of Canada)
• Measles (WHO)
• Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health)
• Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
• Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
• Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC)
• Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC)
• Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
• Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)
• Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts (ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)
• Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)
• Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
• US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
• Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
• Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView)
• Influenza-Associated Pediatric Deaths — United States, 2024–25 Influenza Season (CDC: MMWR)
• ACIP Recommendations Summary (CDC: Influenza)
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Flu and Children (CDC: Influenza (flu))
• Comparison of 2 Doses vs 1 Dose in the First Season Children Are Vaccinated Against Influenza (JAMA: Open Network)
• Influenza Vaccine Composition for the 2025-2026 U.S. Influenza Season (FDA)
• RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
• US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
• RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)
• Vaccines for Adults (CDC: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV))
• Economic Analysis of Protein Subunit and mRNA RSV vaccination in Adults aged 50-59 Years (CDC: ACIP)
• Evidence to Recommendations Framework (EtR): RSV Vaccination in Adults Aged 50–59 years (CDC: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases)
• Efficacy and safety of respiratory syncytial virus vaccines(Cochrane Library)
• Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
• COVID-19 deaths (CDC)
• Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel (CDC: Respiratory Illnesses)
• COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)
• COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)
• SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)
• Antigenic and Virological Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2, XFG, and NB.1.8.1 (bioRxiV)
• Neonatal outcomes among pregnant women with COVID-19 (BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth)
• Safety and Efficacy of Pemivibart, a Long-Acting Monoclonal Antibody, for Prevention of Symptomatic COVID-19 (CID)
• Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
• EUA for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)
• Infusion center (Prime Fusions)
• CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
• NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
• Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
• Help your eligible patients access PAXLOVID with the PAXCESS Patient Support Program (Pfizer Pro)
• Understanding Coverage Options (PAXCESS)
• Retreatment With Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir Following Return of COVID-19 Symptoms and SARS-CoV-2 Positivity (CID)
• Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
• Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
• Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
• What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)
• Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
• Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)
• Daniel Griffin's evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID)
• Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center)
• The answers: Long COVID
• Long COVID associated with SARS-CoV-2 reinfection among children and adolescents in the omicron era (RECOVER-EHR) (LANCET: Infectious Diseases)
• Prevalence and duration of clinical symptoms of pediatric long COVID (Frontiers in Pediatrics)
• COVID-19 infection associated with increased risk of new-onset vascular dementia in adults ≥50 years(NPJ| dementia) Reaching out to US house representative
• Letters read on TWiV 1260
• Dr. Griffin's COVID treatment summary (pdf)
• Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

At the School for Influenza in Brisbane, TWiV speaks with Kirsty, Erik and Rebecca about their careers and their research.

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: Kirsty Short, Erik Karlsson, and Rebecca Cox

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Become a patron of TWiV!

• Support science education at MicrobeTV
• Diabetes, obesity, and COVID-19 severity (Diab Care)
• Rice farming and zoonosis in Cambodia (One Health)
• Influenza correlates of protection (mBio)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: Marshall Bloom, Sonja Best, and Byron Caughey

Vincent visits the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana and speaks with Marshall, Sonja, and Byron about their work on tick-born flaviviruses, innate immunity, and prion diseases.

• Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIH
• Flavivirus persistence (Path Dis)
• Flaviviruses antagonize IRF1 (J Imm)
• Prion test using nasal brushings (NEJM)
• Video of this episode - view at YouTube

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

The TWiV gang answer follow-up questions about the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, then discuss treatment of  disseminated multiple myeloma with oncolytic measles virus.

• Use of unregistered interventions for Ebola virus disease (WHO)
• Response to anthrax and H5N1 incidents (CDC)
• Remission of disseminated cancer after treatment with oncolytic measles virus (Mayo Clin Proc)
• New viruses for cancer therapy (Nat Rev Micro)
• Cattaneo on TWiV
• Image credit
• Letters read on TWiV 298

Alan - WTF, Evolution?! by Mara Grunbaum
Rich - Cold Spring Harbor Oral History Collection
Kathy - Inside insides
Vincent - Going Viral (Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre)

Kim - Nobel Prize Podcasts
Johnye - The Planet is Fine
Jennie - Counter-Zombie Dominance Plan (pdf)

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler

The TWiVites present an all-ebolavirus episode, tackling virology, epidemiology, and approaches to prevention and cure that are in the pipeline.

• Risks and benefits of gain-of-function experiments (mBio)
• Scientists for Science
• US Policy for oversight of DURC (pdf)
• US framework for guiding H5N1 transmission expts (pdf)
• Extra oversight for H7N9 experiments (Science)
• TWiV 283: No Reston for the weary
• Is it Ebolavirus or Ebola virus? (virology blog)
• Ebola virus disease update (WHO)
• Ebola virus disease FAQ (WHO)
• Ebola hemorrhagic fever (CDC)
• Ebola virus disease: ecology meets economy (PLoS NTD)
• 2014 Ebola virus outbreak (J Gen Virol)
• 2014 Ebola virus outbreak (MMWR)
• If Ebola virus came to the US (Vox)
• Zaire ebolavirus in West Africa (interview with Tom Solomon)
• Why Ebola patients were brought to US (Wash Post)
• Experimental treatment and vaccines for Ebola (CDC)
• Aerosol transmission of Reston virus (Sci Rep)
• Ebola - A growing threat? (NEJM)
• On the cusp of Ebola vaccine (Know)
• Ebolavirus vaccines and antivirals (virology blog)
• Immune responses to Ebolavirus infection (Exp Rev Clin Imm)
• Antibody therapy for Ebola (Hum Vacc Immunother)
• Plant derived monoclonals protect macaques from Ebolavirus (PNAS)
• Anti-ebolavirus monoclonal cocktail (Sci Trans Med)
• ZMapp info sheet (pdf)
• ZMapp PR (pdf)
• High tech treatment for Ebola (ArsTechnica)
• ZMapp protects macaques (Sci Rep)
• Letters read on TWiV 297

Alan - Historical perspective on Ebola (Tara C Smith)
Rich - Tell the negative committee to shut up (Fanuel Muindi)
Kathy - Art of Night (Vimeo)
Vincent - Is Ebola virus going to kill me? (John Skylar)

Peter - Dr. Michael Saag interview by Dr. Virginia Campbell
David - PI Predictor (app, article, publication)

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Guest: Linfa Wang

Vincent visits the Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, Australia and speaks with Linfa about his work on bats and bat viruses.

• Hendra virus vaccine (Emer Inf Dis)
• Comparison of bat genomes (Science)
• Endogenous retroviruses in bats (Retrovirol)
• The Bat Pack
• Bats in Geelong (YouTube)
• Video of this episode - view at YouTube

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

The TWiVome discusses an miRNA based strategy to mitigate risk of gain of function studies, and identification of a second receptor required for Lassa virus entry.

Links for this episode

• miRNA strategy to minimize risk (Nat BioT)
• NIH Office of Science Policy
• NIH recombinant DNA guidelines
• Second receptor for Lassa virus entry (Science)
• Lassa fever (Wikipedia)
• Fever! The discovery of Lassa virus (TWiV 9)
• Letters read on TWiV 294

Alan - Nicky Bay macrophotography (Flickr)
Rich - FASEB Third annual BioArt competition
Vincent - Up Close podcast (vrr episode)
Dickson - Science fun (YouTube)

Mark Martin - Average bacteriophage
Konrad - Scholarpedia

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

The TWiV team reviews the discovery of old vials of smallpox virus at NIH, anthrax and influenza mishaps at CDC, the baby who was not cured of HIV, Cambridge Working Group, and sacking of NSABB members.

• Newly discovered smallpox (CDC)
• Infectious smallpox in FDA storage (FDA)
• Report on potential anthrax exposure (pdf, CDC)
• CDC Director on unsafe practices (NY Times)
• HIV returns to baby (NY Times)
• Original HIV baby cured article (NEJM)
• Cambridge Working Group
• NSABB members released (ScienceInsider)
• Letters read on TWiV 294

Alan - Optivisor
Rich - Noller lab ribosome movies
Vincent - Creepy dreadful wonderful parasites
Dickson - National Center for Science Education

Mark - The Machinery of Life by David Goodsell
Basel - iBioEducation

Send your virology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twiv@twiv.tv