I guess it's 'hate immigrants' day AGAIN. Blame immigrants for inequality, instead of economic profiteers. And of course this rhetoric comes exactly from the people who profiteer the most...

Kimika Hara, contemporary Japanese embroidery artist #WomensArt #September

Our new series on AI in ID is finally online! Long time in the making - big thanks to all the authors, in particular, the lead of the series, Prof Anna Odone.

I feel like there's more questions than answers for this topics, alas. Lots of work still to do.

New Editorial: More data needed on the FDA's decision to suspend Ixchiq www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Please don't send me emails written by AI; please don't expect me to send you emails with the effusiveness and artificial sincerity of AI. Thx.

TWiV re-issues our 100th episode which featured a discussion of viruses with David Baltimore, an exemplary scientist and Vincent's exemplary mentor, who passed on 6 September 2025

124 pirated pieces I have written. Sorry, it's my fault that LLMs really like em dashes 🤣

And here’s confirmation from @WHO: “Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Kasai Province where 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including four health workers, have been reported as of 4 September 2025.” #IDsky 🧪

I feel like the reverse applies as well. Tech failures also often rooted in other, pre-existing problems. Thinking of GenAI failures in my field, fake papers, papermills, sloppy referencing, poor peer review etc have existed for a long time. AI mainly adding scale.

I'm starting to look into how inflammation is being misused by MAHA types in a way that very much distracts from chronic illness-inflammation problems people actually have. If you're an academic, doctor, immunologist etc with thoughts on this, please be in touch at [email protected]

"There is no charge for depositing strains in the NCTC … The collection ensures that priceless strains are accessible to future scientists, an appealing opportunity for researchers who are changing institutions or preparing for retirement" www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Calls for editorial fellows for ESCMID's two journals, @cmijournal.bsky.social & @cmicomms.bsky.social, are closing soon! Don't miss the chance to be part of shaping and growing the journals and your career! CMI (due 01 Sept): ow.ly/rifq50WBUfy CMI Comms (due 15 Sept) ow.ly/F43F50WBUfw #IDSky

I'm on vacation (no email for a whole week, yay!). It's lovely but our holiday home leaves me wondering how people can live with inferior cups all their lives. I'm apparently a cup snob.

The week beginning Aug 4 was the most dangerous, tragic week of RFK Jr’s tenure yet. A Lancet Editorial outlines why—unpacking a movement that seeks to discredit mainstream medicine and portray institutions and experts as enemies, not partners. tinyurl.com/4zppw6ay

schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2... #MicroSky

weird lil guy alert

Can't wait for dinner stare

I like this definition of plagiarism: "uses words, ideas, or work products attributable to another identifiable person or source without properly attributing the work to the source from which it was obtained in a situation in which there is a legitimate expectation of original authorship"

REALLY excited to see this published! Clinical Practice Guidelines for TB meningitis from the International TB Meningitis Research Consortium. Lots of work went into these and I think they'll be really helpful. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

New Research: Effectiveness of the TAK-003 dengue vaccine in adolescents during the 2024 outbreak in São Paulo, Brazil: a test-negative, case–control study www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The application closes tomorrow!!

Neighbours commissioning paintings from me makes me so damn happy. Just doing this for fun but the moment of handing the finished painting over is the best. Everyone teary eyed. And speaking to them for the commission, finding out what's meaningful to them, learning so much.

Two thirds of all isolates multidrug resistant. Very difficult situation with most healthcare practically destroyed.

Proof of concept for combining pathogen surveillance with immunosurveillance. Interesting data!

Sounds like Google has the one that knows how to think like a PhD.

WFH (and age) has fundamentally changed me. Went to visit my folks in Switzerland for the week and only shoes I brought were crocs. Conferences and people in suits always bit of a culture shock.

RCT for plague, unexpected! Not easy at all to do👏 All oral has lots of advantages for patients.

I can see both sides of the debate here. Scientific fraud is a problem and there are people doing this on an industrial scale. On the other hand, hyperbolic narratives fuel anti-science propaganda and actions.

Interesting analysis of measles epi in Italy. Introduced vaccination campaigns in children in 2017, which has helped somewhat. Quite a lot of adults born in the 80s and 90s insufficiently vaccinated though and spread between adults and from adults to children distinct patterns.

Running a journal well is not free...

London-based artist Caroline Walker focuses on“invisible” women in the UK capital’s service industries #WomensArt

"Literally the only other solution I can envision is to force LLM manufacturers to pay a significant tax to subsidize the journal review system that they are about to destroy." Ha, now here is a new idea! I indeed see increasing submissions with suspected AI use and little (no?) scientific value.

Data from Denmark from last winter, COVID boosters are indeed still worth it - I hope future recommendations will take evidence such as this into account.

Happy 1st of August! 🐄🇨🇭 Swiss expats being extra Swiss last night in London (and some of my South African family sneaking in)

Today is a day for negronis (not for the cat - for the editor). Non-alcoholic to accommodate middle age, equal parts red martini zero, seedlip spice 94, and everleaf forest.

This also applies for submission cover letters. It doesn't look good if you address it to a different journal. I won't hold it against you; everyone is busy, mistakes happen, but you've missed your chance for a favourable first impression.

Some off-duty art content. Been working on this for the last couple weeks. If anyone wants a massive 30-inch painting, let me know 😂

Paging ESCMID - could we please have a future ESCMID Global in Oslo so that I can go to the Viking Ship museum? Many thanks. PS Egon Schiele in Vienna was fabulous.

Our August issue is out! I would like to highlight this news piece in particular. Many countries spend more on servicing debt than healthcare; shocking. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Only saw this now. I love a good em dash 💜 "I am the punctuation equivalent of a cardigan—beloved by MFA grads, used by editors when it’s actually cold, and worn year-round by screenwriters."

The Lancet Commission on #OneHealth is live ⚡ “[The Commission] provides a cutting-edge appraisal of where One Health has come from, where it is now, and what a viable future should be”, say authors. Explore findings & 10 expert recommendations ⤵️ bit.ly/3TMa6WD

Feline editorial assistant has succumbed to summer. Apologies, editorial office will be closed for the rest of the season.

If anyone remembers the discussion about 5d paxlovid being too short, new trial data shows that longer treatment makes no big difference (small and some findings not clear cut).

Interesting preprint about "peer review meltdown". We indeed have to invite more and more peer reviewers to get reports (understandably). Couple thoughts:

Could we please get a drafts folder so that I can put my grumpy posts somewhere and forget about them?

Very interesting data. I like the author's idea of requiring pre-registration of protocols using OA datasets such as GBD, UK Biobank etc.

Tummy scratches and biscuits to cheer up your Thursday 😺

New Podcast In conversation with... Lilian Tina Minja and Norbert Heinrich Apple - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l... Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/4A8j... Buzzsprout - www.buzzsprout.com/1740310/epis...

At its sixth replenishment, Gavi fell short of its US$9 billion target after the USA withdrew all financing and the other key donors reduced their support. ✍️ Ann Danaiya Usher reports: tinyurl.com/4whwkrv4