This Week in Virology

Vincent Racaniello
This Week in Virology

TWiV is a weekly netcast about viruses - the kind that make you sick. Professors Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler and science writer Alan Dove and guests deconstruct viruses, how they cause illness, and dissect the latest research.

  1. 10 HR AGO

    The long and short of influenza

    TWiV reviews passing of Ann Palmenberg, deadly illness in western Congo, US disruption of mpox and ebolavirus programs, first measles death in Texas outbreak, flu vaccine selection meeting postponed, US withdraws from polio, malaria, HIV programs and more, clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses have a long HA stalk, and systems vaccinology to identify predictors of durable antibody response to multiple vaccines in humans. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Support science education at MicrobeTV ASV 2025 Ann Palmenberg dies (Cress) Ann at Chumakov Symposium (YouTube) Unknown illness in Congo (NY Times) Bad news about mpox outbreak (NPR) US interrupts Ebola prevention program (NPR) First measles death in Texas (Texas Trib) Flu vaccine selection meeting canceled (NY Times) US ends funding for polio, HIV, malaria and more (NY Times) Clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 neuraminidase has a long stalk (mBio) Predictors of durable antibody responses to vaccines (Nat Immunol) Review of adjuvants (Vaccinol Methods Vacc Res) Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Weekly Picks Brianne – Video of the Northern Lights from Space Rich – Vaccination for Sudan Ebola virus disease Alan – Specialized moth wing scales give it 3-D camouflage (news and paper) Vincent – WHO Recommendations for Influenza Vaccine Composition for the 2025-2026 Northern Hemisphere Influenza Season Listener Picks Gerry – Eukaryotic Transcription Anne – The science of the solar system 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.

    1h 41m
  2. 1 DAY AGO

    Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

    In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin and Vincent Racaniello lament about the downfall of public health from “postponement” of the advisory committee on immunization practices and the FDA VRBPAC influenza strain selection meetings to how the communication pause prevents public notice of NIH study section meetings, and withdrawal of CDC promotions for the ‘flu vaccine’ before discussing the end of Ebola outbreak in Uganda, funding from Saudi Arabia for polio eradication, the continuing and growing measles outbreak in the US including misinformation from the Secretary of HHS, highly pathogenic avian flu and its economic effect, ie the cost of eggs before Dr. Griffin reviews recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the WasterwaterScan dashboard, where to find PEMGARDA, an update of Paxlovid administration, provides information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, long COVID interventions and FDA approval of adjuvanted Novovax COVID vaccine. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Phantom ACIP (CDC) Postponement of ACIP…..hummmm (STATNews) Influenza Strain selection VRBPAC cancelled (Reuters) How NIH funded research is impacted by government communication pause (NY Times) Can be reviewed but still no money (STATNews) Final push to end Ebola in Uganda (WHO Uganda) Saudi Arabia sponsors polio eradication effort  (GPEI))  $500 million from Saudi Arabia to immunize 370 million children against polio (CIDRAP) Measles 124 in Texas…. (Texas Health and Human Services) A Texas child who was not vaccinated has died of measles(AP News) The Measles book-(Apple Books) Measles vaccination protects against virus infection and other infections (Science) Measles deadliest sequelae (MEDPAGE TODAY) Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Measles) Unvaccinated Child Dies of Measles in Texas Outbreak(NY Times) Texas child is first reported US measles death in a decade as outbreak hits more than 130 (Reuters) Trump’s cabinet meeting: Kennedy Shocker “Not unusual”……..seriously! (YouTube) First measles death reported in Texas as Kennedy downplays the outbreak (NBC News) Measles cliff notes: symptoms timeline (Substackdn) Annual state immunization report (Texas Health and Human Services) Measles imported into Kentucky…….no tariffs? (Commonwealth of Kentucky) Egg shortage affect flu shots? (MEDPAGE TODAY) Which Came First, the Chicken Slaughter or the Egg Shortage(Wall Street Journal) Avian Influenza in Birds: Causes and How It Spreads (CDC Avian Influenza) Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins: My Plan to Lower Egg Prices (Wall Street Journal) Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView) RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) Weekly US influenza surveillance report (CDC FluView) US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Trump administration yanks CDC flu vaccine campaign(NPR) RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection) New wild to mild campaign drives key message to tame flu and reset expectations (CDC Influenza) Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) COVID-19 deaths (CDC) COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC) COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC) SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain) Effectiveness of the original monovalent messenger RNA Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination series against hospitalization for COVID-19–Associated venous thromboembolism (JID) 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) Demographic variation in US outpatient hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin use during the COVID-19 pandemic (HealthAffairs) Paxlovid update (Pfizer) Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society) Alleviation of COVID-19 symptoms and reduction in healthcare utilization among high-risk patients treated With nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (NMV/R) (CID) Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV) Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society) What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC) When your healthcare provider is infected/exposed with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC) Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC) Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID) 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 Interventions for Long COVID: A Narrative Review (Journal of General Internal Medicine) COVID-19 vaccination and odds of post–COVID-19 condition symptoms in children aged 5 to 17 Years (JAMA Network) Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, adjuvanted (FDA) Letters read on TWiV 1196 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.

    59 min
  3. 23 FEB

    Dickson Despommier, parasitologist without borders

    The entire TWiV team comes together to pay tribute to Dickson Despommier, then reviews antibodies to H5N1 virus in veterinarians working with dairy cattle, Elisabeth Bik donates prize money for data integrity analyses, measles outbreak in Texas, and use of an alternative genetic code by human microbiome phages. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, Brianne Barker, Daniel Griffin, Angela Mingarelli, and Jolene Ramsey Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Support science education at MicrobeTV ASV 2025 Livestream tribute to Dickson (Office Hours) Dickson’s Wikipedia page Dickson’s obituary (NY Times) Dickson websites: trichinella.org, thelivingriver.org, fordhamopolis.com, despommierphotoart.com Alan’s tribute to Dickson (alandove.com) H5N1 seroprevalence (MMWR) Elisabeth Bik donates prize money (Science) Measles outbreak in Texas (Texas DSHS) Human microbiome phages use alternative genetic code (Nat Comm) Letters (mostly not) read on TWiV 1195 – all about Dickson Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Weekly Picks Angela – Rare spotting of humpback anglerfish “diablo negro” (Melanocetus johnsonii) in Tenerife, Canary Islands. First time ever observed alive! Brianne – Moonwalking with Einstein inspired by reading NY Times article about Recent memory champ Kathy – Witness History 9 minute podcasts Rich – APOD: Perijove 11: Passing Jupiter Alan –  Ecological succession on abandoned farmland Jolene –  Parasitic Diseases Lectures and first 27 episodes of This Week in Parasitism Vincent – The New City 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.

    1h 52m
  4. 22 FEB

    Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

    In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin and Vincent Racaniello reminiscence about Dickson before discussing discharging Ebola patients, another announcement of emergency measures to control polio spread and the third nOPV2 vaccination campaign in Gaza in less than 6 months, the measles outbreak in the US, vaccination campaign for chickens against high pathogenic avian flu before Dr. Griffin reviews recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the WasterwaterScan dashboard, where to find PEMGARDA, an update of Paxlovid administration provides information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, and where to go for answers to your long COVID questions. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode In memory of Dickson (NY Times) All Ebola patients discharged in Uganda (DG Alerts) Uganda discharges Ebola patients (WHO Uganda) Emergency measures to stop polio…..isn’t this the same plan as last year? (GPEI)) A third nOPV2 campaign…..but I thought OPV stops transmission (Reuters) Worst outbreak of measles in 30 years for Texas….go big or go home! (AP News) Measles 58 in Texas…. (Texas Health and Human Services) High pathogenic avain influenza virus infection of indoor domestic cats (CDC MMWR) Avian influenza in dairy cattle in Arizona (AZEIN) Third avian flu spillover! (CIDRAP) No vaccine hesitancy in chickens…..vaccinate all! (Science) Zoetis to supply conditionally licensed avian influenza H5N1 vaccine for chickens (Zoetis) High path avian influenza in mammals (USDA: Animal and plant health inspection service) How to vaccinate your chicken (WikiHow) Vaccine failure due to poor administration.(the poultry site) Human cases of H5N1 in US rise to 4 (CBS News) Canada’s buying vaccine as US rats become infected (CIDRP) Canada purchases avian influenza vaccine for those at high risk (Canada Public Health) Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) How the communications pause endangered us about influenza (AP News) Most intense flu season in 15 years (AP News) US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView) RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) Weekly US influenza surveillance report (CDC FluView) RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection) US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) COVID-19 case fatality rate and infection fatality rate from 2020 to 2023 (Journal of Infection and public health) Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) COVID-19 deaths (CDC) COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC) COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC) SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain) Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda) EUA for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD) Fusion center near you….if in NY (Prime Fusions) CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC) NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH) Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool) Paxlovid update (Pfizer) Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society) A randomized, double-blind, Phase 1, single- and multiple-dose placebo-controlled study of the safety and pharmacokinetics of IN-006, an inhaled antibody treatment for COVID-19 in healthy volunteers (eBioMedicine) Ensitrelvir for the Treatment of Nonhospitalized Adults with COVID-19 (CID) Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV) Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society) What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC) When your healthcare provider is infected/exposed with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC) Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC) Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID) 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 Letters read on TWiV 1194 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.

    59 min
  5. 15 FEB

    Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

    In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin and Vincent Racaniello discuss confirmation of Robert F Kennedy as HHS sectary, mpox, Ebola, how the American people support vaccine development and administration, the measles outbreak in the US-Texas, Georgia and influenza: the number of human infections, high avian flu in mammals, house cats and dairy cows before Dr. Griffin reviews recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the WasterwaterScan dashboard, where to find PEMGARDA, an update of Paxlovid administration provides information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, how long COVID varies between children and adults and if viral infection reduces telomere length in sperm. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Confirmation of RFK, Jr as HHS sect (NY Times) Did you know mpox in NY?….(Reuters) Mpox in sex workers in the Congo and in NY (CIDRAP) 9 confirmed, 265 suspected Ebola cases in Uganda (AP news) WHAT!? Support vaccines: availability and development. WHAT? (Businesswire) Measles rising in the unvaccinated. You mean the vaccines does something positive?  (ABC News) Measles in Texas….go big or go home (Texas Health and Human Services) Vaccination Conscientious exemptions in Texas (Texas Health and Human Services) 2, 6, 14 measles hospitalizations in Texas (CNN) Decreases in childhood vaccinations SchoolVaxView(CDC) 2 when 24 cases of measles in two weeks (Texas Health and Human Services) Measles in small town Texas (NY Times) Measles in the US Texas, Georgia, Rhode Island, New York, New Mexico: Elimination of measles (JID) Influenza taxonomy (NCBI) H5N9 in commercial duck farm, California (American Animal Hospital Association) Second type of bird flu circulating in ducks (Scientific Amercia) Variant H1N2 flu in Iowa (CIDRAP) All types of influenza (CDC Influenza) Bird flu in the zoos: Bronx and Queens (Gothamist) High path avian influenza in mammals (USDA: Animal and plant health inspection service) Bird flu in house cats…..I tawt I taw a puddy tat (KFF Health News) New strain of influenza in dairy cows (AP News) Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) How the communications pause endangered us about influenza (AP News) Most intense flu season in 15 years (AP News)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView) RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) Weekly US influenza surveillance report (CDC FluView) RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection) 10 year surveillance of RSV hospitalization in adults(JID) Seasonality of RSV: 2017-2023(CDC: MMWR) What doctors wish patients know about RSV (AMA) US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) COVID-19 deaths (CDC) COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC) COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC) SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain) Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda) EUA for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD) Fusion center near you….if in NY (Prime Fusions) CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC) NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH) Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool) Paxlovid update (Pfizer) 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) When your healthcare provider is infected/exposed with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC) Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC) Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID) 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 Proportion of Long COVID incidence in adults and children (CID) SARS-CoV-2 infection effects sperm telomere length (Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics) Pediatric gastrointestinal tract outcomes during the postacute phase of COVID-19c]\ (JAMA Network) Letters read on TWiV 1192 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

    44 min
  6. 8 FEB

    Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

    In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin and Vincent Racaniello discuss changes in access to public health information and aid mechanisms such as the return of MMWR, the largest tuberculosis outbreak in the US ever, lack of USAID in fighting Marburg and Ebola outbreaks in Africa, discussing if avian influenza virus is airborne, how eggs are effected and the emergence of second spillover into dairy cattle, how the difference between nOPV2 and Sabin OPV2 is a minor reduction in the association of vaccine associated paralytic poliomyelitis before Dr. Griffin reviews recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the WasterwaterScan dashboard, where to find PEMGARDA, an update of Paxlovid administration provides information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, how children may be affected by long COVID and if SARS-CoV-2 and other inflammatory syndromes increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode The return of MMWR (CDC) Largest tuberculosis outbreak ever in the US (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) Marburg virus outbreak in Tanzania (Doctors without borders) No USAID, Ebola outbreak in Uganda spreads (CBS News) WHO accelerates efforts to Ebola response in Uganda (WHO: Uganda) Global partners enable access to vaccine and treatment for Ebola outbreak in Uganda (WHO) Ventilation and respiratory viruses (CDC National Institute for Occupational safety and health) Is bird flu flying through the air…..is the virus literally airborne? (NY Times) Is bird flu like measles (American Journal of Epidemiology) Indoor safety guideline (Herokuapp) Dairy herds in Nevada have influenza! (CIDRAP) Do your eggs have H5N1? (NY Times) New genotye D1.1 of avian flu in dairy cattle(USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) Second spillover of avian flu into dairy cattle….does this story sound familiar? (CIDRAP) Impact of using nOPV2 in mass vaccination campaigns? (JID) Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView) As flu increases so do deaths in kids (CIDRAP) People most impacted by respiratory viruses (CDC) Co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A/B (BMC Infectious Diseases) Oseltamivir reduces 30-Day mortality in older adults with Influenza (OFID) RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection) US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) COVID-19 deaths (CDC) COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC) COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC) SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain) Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda) EUA for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD) Fusion center near you….if in NY (Prime Fusions) CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC) NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH) Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool) Paxlovid update (Pfizer) 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) When your healthcare provider is infected/exposed with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC) Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC) Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID) 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 Recovery Program with Zara Dureno, BA, MOT Long COVID pevalence and associated activity limitation in US children (JAMA Pediatrics) Plasma proteomic evidence for increased β-amyloid pathology after SARS-CoV-2 infection (Nature Medicine) Letters read on TWiV 1190 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

    47 min
4.9
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

TWiV is a weekly netcast about viruses - the kind that make you sick. Professors Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler and science writer Alan Dove and guests deconstruct viruses, how they cause illness, and dissect the latest research.

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