Eid Mubarak! Wishing our Muslim siblings and comrades a joyous and blessed Eid al-Adha. Our thoughts are especially with those observing Eid amid war and genocide. We will continue our work for their liberation and peace for all.

Sage thoughts from @suman-majumdar.bsky.social on the #hantavirus outbreak, and what it means more generally for pandemic preparedness and response. We will see more and more circumstances like this. @burnetinstitute.bsky.social www.burnet.edu.au/news/hantavi...

Version 5. Cleaned up some details about Case 7's flight, noted the Spanish case has (mild) symptoms. Still see conflicting info on whether the US case has symptoms. Added "Andes hantavirus" to the subtitle. Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Keep it coming.

Poliovirus detected in Perth wastewater is a reminder that polio hasn’t been eradicated globally – even if the risk in Australia remains very low. Vaccination is what keeps the community protected. More from Burnet Institute: www.burnet.edu.au/news/poliovi...

💡 Medical research delivers more than health and economic benefits. It delivers hope. Burnet CEO Brendan Crabb: “How do we solve infectious diseases, mental health challenges, or the impacts of social media? There’s only one solution: research.” 🤍 Calling for sustainable investment today.

How a Covid mRNA vaccine can extend healthspan, delay age-related organ deterioration and promote resilience to systemic inflammation, via inducing p16-high immune cells, independent of its benefit vs the virus. www.cell.com/immunity/abs...

There are some poorly understood and uncomfortable realities with TB and why it remains such a prominent - in some places like PNG close to the #1 - health problem. Read about what we can do about this - from Helen Cox & myself @burnetinstitute.bsky.social #worldTBday devpolicy.org/reaching-the...

An excellent opportunity is available for a Senior Executive Assistant to join the Office of the Director at Australia’s pre-eminent biomedical research institute. Applications close April 7 2026. For full details and to apply: wehi.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/WEHI/job/Par...

There’s a lot to welcome in Ambitious Australia, particularly the recognition that Australia’s R&D system isn’t set up for the level of impact we need. The real test will be if that ambition is matched with proper investment, especially in health & medical research. aamri.org.au/news-events/...

Join my campaign to properly fund medical research in Australia 🔬 www.moniqueryan.com.au/medical_rese...

Health and medical research is the only hope for so many health conditions, yet is chronically underfunded. Amazingly, a big part of the solution already exists. The money is literally in the bank, earmarked for health & medical research. It just has to be released. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

From @jasongale.bsky.social based on his brilliant new book. Captures a lot of what actually was, and contrasts that to our (faulty/revised) memory those facts. And importantly, why that all matters for the next pandemic. All a bit sad to me, but great work Jason. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

Bat virologist Dr Joshua Hayward, senior research officer at Burnet Institute, answers some of the most common questions about Nipah virus: www.burnet.edu.au/news/what-is...

James Flintoft has been appointed Burnet's new Chair following the retirement of long-serving Board member and Chair Mary Padbury. Find out more: https://www.burnet.edu.au/news/james-flintoft-appointed-burnet-chair-following-mary-padburys-retirement/

Brilliant reporting here by Gareth Hutchens on the Atlas Network and its insidious work across the world, including Australia www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

My column on Oxfam's inequality report #ThePoint "Oxfam: Australian billionaires pocket $600,000 a day as inequality deepens" thepoint.com.au/news/260120-...

It’s not just obscene, but I’d go as far as to say extreme inequity is our (and the developed world’s) most significant problem; the issue that must be addressed first if we are to be healthier, wealthier, more secure, and more sustainable. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

There’s a lot happening in and around this brilliant shot.

Extraordinary contribution, a reference for us all - vaccines promise to be an even bigger part of the future than they have been in the past. And that’s saying something. Thankyou @scientificdiscovery.dev

Burnet Institute and Acting CEO Professor Caroline Homer AO express condolences on the death of the University of Melbourne’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Emma Johnston AO – distinguished scientist, respected higher education leader, and passionate advocate for research excellence and gender equity.

If ever there was a breath of fresh air and optimism in Australian academia it was Emma. Utterly devastating news. www.afr.com/work-and-car...

Poverty is a policy choice. Concentrated wealth is a policy choice. Inequality is a policy choice. None of it is natural or inevitable. Remember: We have the power to build a system that serves the many, not the powerful few.

It was such a joy to celebrate Hanukkah with Mandy, Kathryn and their son, Gideon. As Jewish New Yorkers across our city prepare to light candles and mark the seventh night today, I wish you and your families a Hanukkah full of light and love. youtu.be/KIxAKyioXng

Underscoring that long COVID is as biological as a broken leg. This commentary is on a new paper in Nature Immunology (see next link). Not new findings in the main but beautifully done work that offers both mechanic insights and potential therapeutic solutions. news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center studied 142 people and found that long COVID is marked by chronic immune activation, including IL-6 and JAK-STAT signaling, T cell exhaustion, and metabolic disruption lasting over 6 months. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Huge thanks to @mikehoney.bsky.social for all the valuable COVID data he tracks. His work has become incredibly important for scientists and health professionals, and with so little data available now, it really matters for people who want to stay safe and informed. www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

A small Australian December (!) #flu thread. In the ~25 days since my last update (08NOV), detections have risen by 32,330. That's a daily rate of 1,293 (up from 1,067 in the previous update).

Great piece on perhaps humanity’s greatest ever achievement - extra special for this extraordinary vaccine-hesitancy-casual-with-new infections moment in history. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12...

Last night, Dr Jeanne Marrazzo delivered the inaugural AIID Oration. Dr Marrazzo argued that without strong systems, trusted institutions and equitable access, even the most extraordinary scientific breakthroughs can fail to reach the people who need them most. Thanks Dr Marrazzo!

We welcome Australia's commitment of $48m to support Fiji's fast-growing HIV crisis. "Infectious disease outbreaks require constant vigilance and sustained investment — the moment we look away, they accelerate," Prof @brendancrabb.bsky.social said. Read more: www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

I’ve added an Excess Deaths Comparison page to my analysis on that topic. Here I’m comparing the UK, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand, to June 2025. My method projects "Expected Deaths" using a linear regression on the weekly deaths (4-week average) from a baseline of 2015-2019 deaths. 🧵

Great to see Australian government support for this, the speed of this resurgence is troubling. www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

"that it is far cheaper for Australia, and the world, to make a well-coordinated effort to reach net zero by 2050' www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

Hundreds of millions in MRFF funds are sitting idle while labs close and researchers leave. The money is there – release the full MRFF. www.aamri.org.au/mrff #releasethefullmrff

1. This is a thread on freedom, and how easy it is to lose. Over the past 2,000 years in Europe, there have been few periods and places of freedom. For much of the time we lived under highly oppressive tyrannies of various kinds, whether small or grand, local or imperial, secular or religious.🧵

The Australian Centre for Disease Control is happening! Burnet’s Chief Health Officer, Associate Professor Suman Majumdar, welcomes the new CDC, saying: “Health challenges transcend national borders. The CDC will bolster Australia’s readiness and contribute to global health security.”

T­he future of Austr­alian medical research is being held back, not by a lack of ideas, talent, or urgency, but by the failure to honour a long‐held funding promise, a situation all the more perplexing given that the promised funds are already available. Read more: www.burnet.edu.au/news/burnet-...

An important report by Australia’s science Academy.

Adding to the already strong case for vaccinating kids against COVID - both its acute and chronic (long COVID) effects www.9news.com.au/health/covid...

Just called (through gritted teeth).

Australia’s MRFF is sitting on billions of taxpayers’ dollars which was meant to be invested in world-leading, lifesaving health innovations.

The world learned a painful lesson during COVID; respiratory infections are airborne. This changes a great deal - especially the need for better indoor air quality and high quality masks. If there was a single most important person responsible it was Prof Morawska. www.abc.net.au/news/science...

Pretty much the best news I could imagine. www.abc.net.au/news/science...

Atomo Diagnostics and Burnet have partnered to develop a syphilis test that would not only be Australia’s first self-test for the disease but the first syphilis test in the world to be able to differentiate between ­active and past infections. www.theaustralian.com.au/health/medic...

Great work team at @burnetinstitute.bsky.social and partners. www.theaustralian.com.au/health/medic...

"We're seeing a shift, and GPs and medical professionals are accepting that long COVID is real. "But we still struggle with the belief there's nothing you can do about it. There is a lot you can do." 💯 #LongCovid #MEcfs ⚕️🧪

In awe of the team at Clinic Nineteen treating adults & children for long COVID & related diseases. COVID infection is commonplace in the community & repeat infections increase your chances of getting LC so do your best to avoid infection. Indoor air quality is key. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11...

As our team and others have written about previously, metformin does appear to have some benefit. thesicktimes.org/2025/10/28/m...

Of course it’s the human thing to do but it’s also economically and societally smart to eliminate poverty. The pandemic showed us that it can be done, and that we all win from that investment. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Terrific explainer on a surprise benefit of mRNA vaccines - not of the antigen in the vaccine, but of the generic nanoparticle itself. More to do on this but very promising, deservingly published in @nature.com - mRNA vaccines offer a great deal for both infectious & non-infectious diseases.