New Ebola situation report is out and we are up to 837 confirmed cases now in the DRC (+29 in the last 24 hours) That includes 196 confirmed deaths. Follow-up of contacts is at 64.4%. At this rate we will reach a thousand cases early next week. insp.cd/sitrep-n32-m...

Just horrifying. Modelling predicts USAID funding cuts will result in > 14 MILLION DEATHS. 🧸 1 in 3 are <5 yrs of age -Lancet Global Health www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

This is extremely chilling - virologists being targeted for what appears to be minor (if any) "offenses". We all know _why_ this is happening, so I'm not going to belabor that point - but I want to provide some context on the technical details. 🧵 www.science.org/content/arti...

🔉 CEPI is urgently accelerating the development of three investigational vaccine candidates towards clinical trials in response to the deeply concerning Bundibugyo ebolavirus epidemic. More in the press release ⬇️

ARTIC network has published Bundibugyo (BDBV) sequencing resources as the 2026 outbreak continues in DRC & Uganda. We have compiled guidance for labs wishing to sequence, assemble and analyse BDBV genomes: artic.network/viruses/bdbv/bdbv-sequencing-guide.html

The amazing teams around Dav Ebengo & Placide Mbala-Kingebeni, alongside the Institut National de Santé Publique and AfricaCDC have led an effort to improve understanding of the current #Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak. Data: github.com/INRB-UMIE/Eb... Dashboard: inrb-umie.github.io/EBOV2026_Epi...

Our initial work on the potential geographic and ecological origin of the MV Hondius Andes virus outbreak showing the outbreak lineage clusters most closely with some of our new sequences from southern Chile (lead by the brilliant Lissette): virological.org/t/potential-....

Overland Aid Convoy to Gaza Blocked by Military Forces novaramedia.com/2026/05/18/o...

The contrast between the number of media requests I got when rich people on a cruise were facing a deadly, but contained outbreak versus now that some of the poorest people in the world are facing a deadly and devastating epidemic is just so so stark and it just really annoys the hell out of me.

Gotta say it’s a bit on the nose to have a ship full of wealthy white people and an outbreak that’s actually been controlled dominate global media while a major Ebola outbreak in DRC with cross boarder spread is going unnoticed. www.npr.org/2026/05/16/g...

First genome sequence from Andes hantavirus strain from ongoing ship outbreak posted on Virological: virological.org/t/complete-s... courtesy Swiss National Reference Centre for Emerging Viral Infections, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Zurich

... and in case you're interested in learning more about hantaviruses and how diverse they can be, our recent preprint with phenomenal colleagues in Chile just landed: bsky.app/profile/edyt...

I was recently lucky enough to work with Lissette and the brilliant team at Universidad del Desarrollo's Hantavirus and Zoonosis Program in Chile on Hanta Andes virus genomic surveillance -- Some of our initial work here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Augustine is still battling PSP, but unfortunately had to be taken to the Kenema Government Hospital yesterday for further supportive care. If you have the means, please consider supporting him this Easter Sunday - we were hoping to reach a goal of $10k. www.gofundme.com/f/augustine-...

Today, MSF is going public with something we've been fighting behind closed doors for months: Gilead will not sell us their new HIV drug, lenacapavir. The sticking point isn't even price, they just refuse to sell. Open letter linked + explainer 🧵1/ www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/gilea...

👏 Please share widely: Calling for applications in Africa for our new bio threat reduction course and fellowship!

Grand Challenge seeks cost-disruptive tools for diagnosis & screening, defined as devices that amortize capital to near-zero incremental cost, consumable $1-class tests that materially reset the cost curve in LMICs while meeting real-world constraints gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/in...

Biosecurity depends critically on the early identification of novel pathogens. Our international team developed a global multi-scale model of infectious diseases to evaluate the time to detection in aircraft wastewater vs. other surveillance modalities. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...

Before I was a teacher, I was a writer. This is a YA fantasy novel I wrote back when spare time was still a thing. Please have a look at the first few chapters on #Libraro for their Reader Engagement Prize and give it a like. Do it for the children. They want a happy teacher. app.libraro.com/feed

The species in which monkeypox virus naturally circulates is uncertain, but wildlife surveillance data suggest that the fire-footed rope squirrel is a likely candidate go.nature.com/4kDuHZZ

I really enjoyed working on this piece on Riutord-Fe et al, a fantastic piece of work that highlights both the power of comprehensive, longitudinal wildlife surveillance and the challenges of disentangling the roles different hosts play in pathogen maintenance ecology. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

This is Nathan Wolfe. Nathan is a virus hunter. Nathan has a bit of a reputation. Through the years, I've told multiple journalists stories I've heard, like "Nathan thanks Jeffrey Epstein in his book." Somehow no one ever wrote anything up. Want to see what Nathan was up to in today's Epstein files?

noting that @sdnsolidarity.bsky.social is collecting donations for on the ground mutual aid orgs here: www.sudansolidarity.com

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. Maybe many of us won't be here to greet her, but on a quiet day, if I listen very carefully, I can hear her breathing.” Arundhati Roy

Global solidarity in genomic surveillance improves early detection of acute respiratory virus threats. "Importantly, these benefits cannot be attained by siloed expansion in countries that already possess strong capacity." Well done to the team! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A few updates on the deeply unethical study to probe "non-specific" effects of the birth dose HepB vaccine in Guinea-Bissau by Danish investigators. 1️⃣ The study was canceled as per AfricaCDC - HHS disputes this. 2️⃣ Full protocol was leaked and it's bad. Quick 🧵 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

I am very glad to share the preprint for our latest study on the 2024-2025 chikungunya virus outbreak on Réunion island, with primary data produced thanks to the massive efforts performed by Marie-C Jaffar and Etienne Frumence and analyses led by Simon Dellicour. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...

Our latest study dedicated to the massive 2024-2025 chikungunya virus outbreak on Réunion island is now available as a preprint on medRxiv: doi.org/10.64898/202.... With more than 54,000 confirmed cases this is the second major chikungunya outbreak on the island, following the 1° one 20 yrs ago. 1/9

We find that subclade K viruses are antigenically advanced; however, this year's flu vaccine surprisingly elicited antibodies in many individuals that efficiently recognized these viruses. The implications are clear: go get this year’s vaccine if you haven’t already! www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...

Fantastic opportunity!

I rarely ask for things, but I will make an exception for my colleague and friend, Augustine Goba, who dedicated his life to saving others. Augustine was Director of the hemorrhagic fever lab in Kenema, Salone, and is struggling with PSP. Please consider donating. www.gofundme.com/f/augustine-...

So, El Fasher looks like one of the worst single event atrocities to happen this century so far, but the evidence has come in such a trickle it seems to only now be getting verified

Amazing novel mpox recombination between epidemic clade 1 and 2 in returning traveller detected in UK: virological.org/t/inter-clad...

This #GivingTuesday, become a monthly donor at World Central Kitchen. $50 will be added to your first month’s gift, thanks to a $1 million match. Together, we can ensure WCK is first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to crises around the world. bit.ly/3KjB2vD

We are in peak French heist season.

1/ 🚀 Pathoplexus now supports Marburg virus (MARV) and Ravn virus (RAVN) (sister viruses in the same genus). MARV has two main clades and causes severe disease with reported fatality rates of 24–88%. You can read more detail about adding Marburg here: pathoplexus.org/news/2025-11...

A nice article, highlighting the important work our collaborators in South Africa are doing using wastewater to surveil a bunch of different vaccine preventable diseases (and finding a lot more of them than other reports would make you believe…). 💪🇿🇦 www.nature.com/articles/d44...

When people celebrate the individual genius of folks in science, they should also mourn the collective loss of genius of folks who were actively discouraged or disadvantaged from a career in science because of the same person(s)

I want to spell this out in case the implications aren't clear: This means all public tools/webapps of GISAID data (all the ones you've been used to seeing thru the pandemic, as far as we can tell) are prohibited. The file allowed this. Cut that - cut off all tools the public & others were using.

GISAID on providing data to @Nextstrain.org: "After consulting with our staff and advisors on the feasibility of keeping your global tree up-to-date, there was a clear consensus that continuing to generate, zip and move big files back and forth is not sustainable and a waste of resources." 🙃

“Sudan's Death Toll Could Exceed Gaza’s. Here’s Everything You Need to Know” Important convo on the genocide there from me/Zeteo, with 2 Sudan experts who offer actual solutions to stop the fighting & put pressure on outside actors like the UAE & Saudi:

Sudan hospital bombing kills 460 patients and healthcare workers buff.ly/SJnIcle

I’m so honored to be a guest on the last episode of Science in Action after a decades-long run. I only wish it were ending on a happier note, but if science were in a better place, it wouldn’t be ending.

The count down to the end of the Ebola outbreak in the DRC has officially begun. The last patient in the treatment center has be released. 42 days need to elapsed without any new cases for the end of the outbreak to be official. Fingers crossed. www.cidrap.umn.edu/ebola/last-e...

Happy to see this out finally -- my thanks to the brilliant team!

The role of climate variability in shaping the 2023/24 outbreak of Dengue in Brazil (📉 in north regions; 📈 in southern populous regions). Brazil recorded the largest outbreak on record which coincided with the warmest ever reported temperatures in the Americas. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Vaccination of frontline health workers and contacts of people infected with #Ebola has begun in the #DRC’s Kasai Province where an outbreak of the disease has been declared: www.afro.who.int/countries/de...

As always, the deepest admiration for INRB and Placide's work: The 16th Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Bulape Health Zone, Kasai, Democratic Republic of the Congo: A new spillover event from an unknown reservoir host virological.org/t/the-16th-e...

DRC just declared an Ebola outbreak with 13 deaths so far.