This Week in Virology

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin dives into H5N1/influenza and RSV circulation in the US, whether or not H5N1 is “adapting” for human-human transmission, why drinking raw milk may NOT be the best idea despite RFK Jr endorsement, before reviewing the recent statistics on SARS-CoV-2 infection, the WasterwaterScan dashboard, how if I encounter no one I can infect no one, the efficacy of COVID-19 boosters, how vaccines are the ‘seat belt’ of public health, the results of two PLACEBO control studies assessing antiviral therapy for COVID-19, where to find PEMGARDA, susceptibility of neurological complications in young to middle-aged adults and how discussing the origins of the pandemic and rise of scientific harassment will allow you to avoid a political conversation around your Thanksgiving day table, the interplay between transmission and immunity for virus spread and who to call if you do get sick this holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!   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) RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection) In case you missed, US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Adaptation of H5N1 to humans…..sequence analysis (Nature) Favoring human transmission for H5N1 ?(Youtube: medcram) From 2022: unprecedented bird flu outbreaks sweeping the world…..and we are still talking about it? (Nature) What children get flu: First child in US infected with H5N1 (CDC Newsroom) Bird flu detected in raw milk……but RFK at HHS says it is safe? (NBC News) 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) If I see no one in my house, household Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Transmission is reduced! (CID) Updated boosters conferred protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and emergency  visits/hospitalizations during a JN.1 variant wave(CID) Provisional COVID-19 mortality (CDC National Center for Health Statistics) Influenza, RSV and COVID-19 vaccine in nursing home residents (CDC MMWR) Vaccines are the seat belts of public health (TRID) 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) Effectiveness of molnupiravir against 30-day mortality among 74 541 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients (OFID) Sustained Recovery Among Outpatients With COVID-19 Receiving Montelukast vs Placebo(JAMA Network Open) 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 for treatment of COVID-19 requiring oxygen support (CID) Daniel Griffin’s evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID) Neurologic manifestations of long COVID disproportionately affect young and middle-aged Adults (Annals on Neurology) To review, three score and two months ago, the WHO brought for on this planet, the declaration of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19…. How nature began a pandemic (microbeTV) Bullying within the origin scientific discourse……by those at Rutgers (Science) Scientific harassment on the rise (Science) Doxing :The de-identified of the de-identified (Wikipedia) Harassment survey (Science) The harm of factless hypotheses (mSphere) In summary, the era of harm: factless theories (microbeTV) Stay inside: risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in community indoor settings (JID) Lower levels of household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 VOC Omicron compared to Wild-type: an interplay between transmissibility and immune status (JID) Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center) Letters read on TWiV 1170 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 travels to Brisbane, Australia for the Options XII for the control of influenza conference, and meets up with Stephanie Gras and Jenna Guthmiller to talk about their careers and their research. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Kathy Spindler, and Steph Langel Guests: Stephanie Gras and Jenna Guthmiller Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Goldilocks zone of influenza immunity (J Inf Dis) Broadly neutralizing HA antibodies (Nature) T cell epitopes needed for influenza vaccines (Clin Transl Immunol) T cell epitopes conserved in emerging H5N1 viruses (Clin Transl Immunol) Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! 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 briefly discusses the E.coli outbreak associated with onions from McDonald’s before deep diving into the announcement of Robert F Kennedy Jr. nomination for Secretary of Human and Health Services with highlights from MicrobeTV’s own Vincent Racaniello and Paul Offit (Beyond the Noise), the global measles outbreak, underutilization of influenza antivirals for children and teens, the $350 million 2025 order for mpox vaccination, before reviewing the recent statistics on SARS-CoV-2 infection, the WasterwaterScan dashboard, the effectiveness of N95 mask, the interplay between transmission and immunity for virus spread, where to find PEMGARDA, and translational science being conducted to understand long COVID including ongoing clinical trials, development of animal models and how sex may affect outcomes. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Micky D’s onions linked to E. coli outbreak….another reason to not eat fast food (CDC) RFK Jr. series…..does he get anything right? (FactCheck.org) Salk polio vaccine : a calculated risk? (BMJ) How to conduct a controlled vaccine trial (American Journal Public Health Nations Health) Safety and efficacy of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (NEJM) Another Safety and efficacy study: mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (NEJM) …..SERIOUSLY! can’t RFK Jr get it correct? (FactCheck.org) ‘I’ve Come Home Today’: RFK Jr. (the Defenders Children’s Health Defense News & Views) Thank God for sensible people: Racaniello and Offit (microbeTV) RFK Jr. : MAN CAN’T YOU GET ANYTHING RIGHT? (Annenberg Public Policy Center: University of Pennsylvania) No harm in repeating Vinny! Thank God for sensible people: Racaniello and Offit (microbeTV) Did America think Trump-Kennedy through? …..really did you think this through? (microbeTV) Make American Healthy Again? ……I will have fries with that….SUPERSIZED! (Wall Street Journal) Keep the United States HEALTHY! (Safe Communities Coalition) Measles in the US (CDC Measles: Rubeola) The merry-go-around of measles (JID) It is a measles outbreak! (CDC Measles: Rubeola) 10.3 million measles infections in 2023….but no vaccine (WHO) Underutilization of influenza antiviral treatment among children and adolescents (CDC MMWR) Increase in influenza infection in children…..(CIDRAP) Influenza weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView) $340 million doses of mpox vaccine ordered for 2025 (Reuters) Mpox in NYC (JID) Respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) 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) N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator use (JAMA Open Network) The Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Community Indoor Settings (JID) Lower levels of household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 VOC Omicron compared to Wild-type: an interplay between transmissibility and immune status (JID) Enhanced placental antibody transfer efficiency with longer interval between maternal RSV vaccination and birth (AJOG: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology) 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) Perceptions and Barriers to Outpatient Antiviral Therapy for COVID-19 and Influenza as Observed by Infectious Disease Specialists (OFID) Drug–Drug Interactions with Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir(Infectious Diseases and Therapy) Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool) Real-world effectiveness of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and molnupiravir  (CMI: Clinical Microbiology and Infection) Alleviation of COVID-19 Symptoms and Reduction in Healthcare Utilization Among High-Risk Patients Treated With Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir (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 Clinical Trials (RECOVER) Initiating Long Covid RECOVERy (Science Translational Medicine) Beyond acute SARS-CoV-2 infection in children (Science Translational Medicine) Long COVID and Osler’s Web: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (goodreads) Sex differences in post infection sequalae  (Science Translational Medicine) Symptoms after Lyme disease: What’s past is prologue (Science Translational Medicine) Animal models of Long COVID (Science Translational Medicine) Therapies for Long COVID (Science Translational Medicine) Sex differences and immune correlates of Long Covid development, symptom persistence, and resolution (Science Translational Medicine) The Long COVID ISSUE (Science Translational Medicine) Letters read on TWiV 1168 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 reveals a novel H5N1 reassortant virus in Cambodia, circulating vaccine derived poliovirus type 2 in more countries, circulation in the blood of humans of infectious parvovirus B19 coated with active proteases, and B cell receptor dependent enhancement of dengue virus infection. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server MicrobeTV Fundraiser Novel H5N1 in Cambodia (medRxiv) More cVDVP2 circulation (polioeradication.org) Infectious parvovirus B19 with proteases (Nat Comm) B cell receptor enhancement of dengue disease (PLoS Path) Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Weekly Picks Brianne – See How Many Lives Vaccines Have Saved Around the World based on Lancet study Dickson – 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Kathy – 450 Million year old arthropods preserved in fool’s gold. Primary article Pyrite video Vincent – ‘We need to be ready for a new world’: scientists globally react to Trump election win Listener Picks Jack – Coronavirus vaccine update 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.