This Week in Virology

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin deep dives into whether the mysterious respiratory illness in the Congo is malaria, and in conjunction with your host Vincent Racaniello discusses the failure of the poliovirus eradication campaign with virus circulation detected throughout Europe and how we should focus on disease control not virus circulation, then returns to discussing avian influenza in raw milk and the early stoppage of the mpox antiviral Tecovirimat  before reviewing the recent statistics on SARS-CoV-2 infection, the WasterwaterScan dashboard, if there is a difference in protection against the development of severe disease between an mRNA or a protein based vaccine, where to find PEMGARDA, and information for Columbia Unversity Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode IIs the mysterious disease in the Congo, malaria? (AP News) State of global health, year-end remarks by WHO director-general (WHO) Really, progress towards poliomyelitis eradication? (CDC MMWR) Increases in confirm cases ¹ control of poliomyelitis (WHO) Polio European Union and United Kingdom, is that 1 global entry? (Science) Is the WHO the global CDC?  polio vaccination guidelines (WHO) Do you feed your cats raw milk? (Public Health LA county) Is there avian influenza in the zoo near you? (Maricopa) Don’t feed your cat raw milk (CIDRAP) Holy Cow! H5N1 in cows! (microbeTV) Tecovirimat no improvement in Mpox resolution or pain(NIAID NIH) Interim results from STOMP study of  Tecovirimat (SIGA) Trial stops enrollment after Tpoxx fails (CIDRAP) Is Tecovirimat really first-in-class mpox therapy? (Viruses) Influenza weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView) US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection) COVID-19 deaths (CDC) COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC) Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC) SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain) Relative effectiveness of homologous NVX-CoV2373 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccinations in South Korea (Vaccine) Phase III trial results! Comparative efficacy and safety of COVID-19 (BMC Infectious Diseases) 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) Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society) Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool) 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) Stop playing favorites with COVID-19 in healthcare settings (Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology) Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID) Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org) Remdesivir Effectiveness in Reducing the Risk of 30-day Readmission in Vulnerable Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 (CID) Daniel Griffin’s evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID) Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center) Letters read on TWiV 1174 Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf) Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

TWiV reviews nominees to head NIH, FDA, and CDC, cervical cancer decline following HPV vaccination, local dengue in Texas, human isolate of H5N1 virus is transmissible and virulent in animal models, and shared mechanisms of immune evasion among animal and bacterial viruses. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, Brianne Barker, and Jolene Ramsey Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Bhattacharya nominated to head NIH (Science) Makary nominated to head FDA (Science) Weldon nominated to head CDC (Chief Healthcare Exec) Cervical cancer declining following vaccination (JAMA Net) Local dengue case in Texas (Texas HHS) H5N1 human isolate transmissible and virulent (Nature) H5 current situation (CDC) Global H5N1 cases (Our World in Data) Conserved immune evasion in animal and bacterial viruses (Cell) Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Weekly Picks Brianne – Pale Blue Pod Kathy – PhysicsGirl recent Instagram post, ScienceAdvisor signup free daily sci news distillation, Semi-conducting hydrogels, Bot that can pick up things with a soft touch, “Pigeonbot II”, a drone called LisRaptor, zapping forever chemicals like PFAS with light and here Rich – Vendee Globe Jolene – Center for the Improvement of Mentored Research Experiences Vincent – These two ancient human relatives crossed paths 1.5 million years ago Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected] Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin summarizes influenza and RSV circulation in the US, the benefit of administering oseltamivir early and if influenza vaccination reduces secondary household infections, before reviewing the recent statistics on SARS-CoV-2 infection, the WasterwaterScan dashboard, how 1st or 2nd trimester SARS-CoV-2 infections may shorten newborn telomeres, what are B1 cells, if IgG4 responses are critical for protection elicited by mRNA vaccines, if there is a difference in protection against the development of severe disease between an mRNA or a protein based vaccine, where to find PEMGARDA, if remdesivir reduces readmission of vulnerable patients once hospitalized for COVID-19, information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, if transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation ameliorates musculoskeletal pain and fatigue during long COVID, do antihistamines reduce post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection and how long can SARS-CoV-2 antigens be detected in blood. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Influenza weekly surveillance report: cliff notes (CDC FluView) US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Influenza vaccines protect against secondary infections in households (JAMA Network) Benefit of early oseltamivir therapy for influenza A (CID) RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection) COVID-19 deaths (CDC) COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC) Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC) SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain) Maternal infection of SARS-CoV-2 during 1st and 2nd trimesters newborn telomere shortening (Journal of Translational Medicine) What is a B1 cell? (Wikipedia) Pre-COVID and post-COVID vaccination on long COVID (Journal of Infection) Delayed Induction of Noninflammatory SARS-CoV-2 Spike-Specific IgG4 Antibodies after  BNT162b2 Vaccination in Children (The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal) Relative effectiveness of homologous NVX-CoV2373 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccinations in South Korea (Vaccine) Phase III trial results! Comparative efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines (BMC Infectious Diseases) 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) Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society) Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool) 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) Remdesivir Effectiveness in Reducing the Risk of 30-day Readmission in Vulnerable Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 (CID) Daniel Griffin’s evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID) Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center) Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for fibromyalgia-like syndrome in patients with Long-COVID(Scientific Reports) Mitigating the risks of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) with intranasal chlorpheniramine (BMC Infectious Diseases) Measurement of circulating viral antigens post-SARS-CoV-2 infection (CID) Letters read on TWiV 1172 Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf) Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

TWiV reviews susceptibility to vaccine-preventable infections in asylum seekers, the economic power of vaccines, French university tries to bury its investigation of a faculty member’s ethical lapses, transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in New Zealand before and after COVID-19, and a germ line encoded antibody that recognizes a broad array of enveloped viruses. 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 Why RFK Jr is not suitable for HHS (YouTube) Write your Senators to oppose RFK Jr Support MicrobeTV ASV 2025 Susceptibility to infections in asylum seekers (NEJM) RSV hospitalization in adults (JAMA Net Open) Ethics failings at French university (Science) RSV transmission in New Zealand (Nat Commun) Glycan reactive IgM binds multiple viruses (SciImmunol) Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Weekly Picks Brianne – Publication of Updated Human Cell Atlas Rich – Astroscale Alan – E3 ubiquitin ligase game, and an article about its origin Vincent – In the Quantum World, Even Points of View Are Uncertain Listener Pick Ryan – A Dangerous Moment Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected] Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.