Definitely worth a read and raises all sorts of questions about how quickly we become vulnerable as a population if we aren’t immune/immunised.👇

Death rates from serious #StrepA infections remain worryingly high, new research led by Prof Shiranee Sriskandan shows. Study found no big difference between two key strains, but highlights the need for faster diagnosis & prevention. academic.oup.com/cid/advance-...

Why did severe #StrepA infections in children increase after the pandemic? Our new @jamanetworkopen paper suggests COVID restrictions delayed immunity development in young children. tiny.cc/63vt001

A new study by @thushan-desilva.bsky.social @alexjkeeley.bsky.social & colleagues provides a framework for future Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) vaccine development by examining the natural acquisition of humoral immunity! www.nature.com/articles/s41... #Microbiology #Pathogen #VaccineDevelopment

# StrepA kills >500,000 people a year via: Invasive Strep A (e.g UK 2022) and Rheumatic heart disease (RHD). RHD occurs where there’s: +++ Strep A skin infections +++ bacterial diversity +++ poverty Children the world over would benefit from a safe effective vaccine. 3/

🧵 Our paper out today in @naturemedicine.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... On development of #StrepA #Immunity over life course in #TheGambia raising hope for #vaccines on the horizon 1/ #Immunosky #IDsky #MicroSky #globalhealth.

Please share my 1 min video on the importance of maintaining NIH funding of infectious diseases and drug discovery research vs rising antibiotic resistance Drastic budget cuts harm our health and imperil the next generation of scientists More @UCSanDiego “Behind Every Breakthrough” bit.ly/3FlXQs3

Latest from @mrcunitgambia.bsky.social #StrepA group. Show clinical decision rules developed elsewhere (mostly HIC) have poor performance in Gambia & molecular tests detect far more #StrepA than culture. Given burden of RhD in Africa we urgently need better & affordable tests for #StrepA diagnosis

This deep dive into the clinical phenotype of rheumatic fever highlights extreme diversity in presenting symptoms. An important observation from the START study, and highlights why better diagnostic tests are needed 🧪 @annapralph.bsky.social @rhcmcg.bsky.social bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/7...

Part of the recently completed PhD thesis of outstanding UC San Diego Medical Scientist Training Program student Alex Stream exploring Strep A molecular pathogenesis and vaccinology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Great discussions happening at the #iSpyNetworkMeeting #LISSSD2025! Collaborating around #Strep research. Huge thanks to the Leducq Foundation for making it all possible! @ispyexplore.bsky.social @ispylifenetwork.bsky.social @grampospath.bsky.social @thushan-desilva.bsky.social

Great to see everyone dialled in for Joe Kado's talk on "Diagnosing in Low Resource Settings" at #LISSSD2025 in Brisbane! So many #Strep enthusiasts in one place. Big thanks to @ispyexplore.bsky.social & @ispylifenetwork.bsky.social for putting this on! #Lancefield #iSpyNetworkMeeting

More cool penicillin data - A/Prof J Bennett presents NZ data for subcut BenPen for RHD/ARF 💉 Penicillin >20ng/mL for 56d & >10ng/mL for 70d 💉 Worked better in ⬆️ BMI 💉 No breakthrough infections 😊 Highly accepted - only 1 pt switched back to IM BenPen #LISSSD25 #idsky

A/Prof Laurens Manning presents a human challenge study looking to define penicillin MIC to prevent strep throat. 💊 ~9ng/mL penicillin (lower then standard threshold 20ng/mL) prevents clinical strep throat and systemic inflammation as measured by CRP. #LISSSD25 #idsky

Prof M Good & A/Prof M Pandey close #LISSSD25 thanking all the local committee, scientific advisory committee (led by Dr T Lamagni & @joshosowicki.bsky.social), presenters, and delegates. Prof A Steer announces #LISSSD28 is to be held in 📌 Limassol, Cyprus 🇨🇾 2028

I said no more #LISSSD25 posts but forgot a major highlight! Most sessions started w/ a patient lived experience video, and you can see them all @ lisssd2025.org/patient-stories Looking after patients during thier illnesses is v. stressful so it's great to hear their experiences when recovered.

Last of the #LISSSD25 presentations is Prof Victor Nizet imploring the community to think like streptococci in these times of authoritarianism USA anti-science 🍇 Evade host immunity (cont to do work) 🍇 Form biofilms (network) 🍇 Colonise diverse hosts (expand skill sets) #strep #idsky

Another AUROC: L Carlton presents a possible ARF biomarker id'd from a series of bead array exp using START cohort samples. Most accurate candidate TRAFIP with AUROC 0.79 solo or upto 0.845 in combo w/ other biomarkers. Coming to a revised-revised Jones criteria? #LISSSD25 #idsky

PhD cand. J Iwasaki talks about mechanism behind strep throat recurrence. 👅 ~15% strep throat relapse 👅 Relapse strains can persist in ⬆️ [pen] 👅 Intracellular persistence in strep intracell. comm. [SIC] 👅 SICs are L-switch'd to lack cell wall hence recur post Pen Rx #LISSSD25 #clinmicro

Dr K Gibney flys the flag for 🦘 clin trials by 🎺 ISAAC 🔎 at Abx prophylaxis of close iGAS contacts (enrolling soon) STRAP 🔎 backbone Abx, adjunctive Abx, and IVIg (enrolling 2026ish) Only enrolling in Aus for now but looking for int. collab. #LISSSD25 #idsky #clinicaltrials #strep

Prof S Sriskandan finishes w/ sobering data from the '22 UK GAS outbreak probably driven by nonimmune unexposed birth cohorts and spread by aerosolised hydrophobic GAS. Rapidly fatal - Dx of GAS microbiologically conf. post mortem in 50% of peads deaths so window of opportunity very small

Prof A Steer speaks about the progress to a Strep A vaccine, and highlights the current Emm and non-emm candidates as well as the challenges in Strep A. Steer highlights new human challenge models, published trial complication guidelines and monitoring, and building momenum. #LISSSD25 #idsky

Prof de Silva & Dr Keeley speak on Strep A epi & immunity in the Gambia. 🗝️ Hyperendemicity of Strep A 🗝️ Index infections not explained by household contacts 🗝️ Early life immunity develops <2 y/o 🗝️ Ab response to carriage & infection 🗝️ ?protective immunity from SLO, SpyAD, SpyCEP #LISSSD25 #IDsky

@earmitage.bsky.social leverages the SpyCATS platform to investigate WASH facilities on Strep A infection incidence ⬇️ w/ handwashing, freq. clothes changing, good wound care, access to soap. Limited by no wealth data & small sub-group but options for interventions identified. #LISSSD25

Prof N Moreland from NZ speaks through the ARF perturbed immune response in ARF. 🌍 All strep A serotypes assoc w/ ARF in NZ 🌍 Increased IgG3 ab phenotpes 🌍 Immune infiltration valves incl plasma cells. 🌍 DIifferences in immue activation in acute & chronic RHD #LISSSD25

Start cohort bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/9/e053720

📣💥Thrilled to share this preprint from our PhD student Yao Shi on the identification of a conserved motif in Strep suis cell wall glycan for possible vaccine protection. 👏 to team of dedicated international collaborators immunogenicity.https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.02.656523v1

Congratulations to Tom Parks the new President of the Lancefield Society and Committee members ! #LISSSD2025 @ispylifenetwork.bsky.social

Evening kick off off at #Lancefield #LISSSD2025 in Brisbane for all #Strep enthusiasts @ispylifenetwork.bsky.social @ispyexplore.bsky.social

Points to a specific but I think meaningful immunity gap against two of the pathogens tested - strep A and RSV in 3-4 y olds. Age specific increment in anti Strep antibodies as you might hope. Just less in those post 2020. Preprint of interest to many of us in @ispylifenetwork.bsky.social

Why did invasive #strepA infections increase in young children after the pandemic? In this new @imperialinfect.bsky.social PREPRINT *not peer-reviewed* we look at antibody responses to #strepA and resp viruses in European children before and after the pandemic: www.medrxiv.org/cgi/content/...

Pleased to share @chemo_king’s paper explaining why spycep does what it does ! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Great thread and paper: Where #StrepA burden greatest frequent lineage replacement seen. Interesting points: "vaccines without broad cross-lineage protection may also lead to S. pyogenes lineage replacement." "need to do better surveillance from carriage and non-invasive disease"

NEW PAPER with @tom-parks.bsky.social and @petedodd24.bsky.social in @ofidjournal.bsky.social Our tool can estimate extent to which misallocation of person time will result in spurious or optimistic estimates of intervention effects We find benefits of IVIG in STSS have likely been exaggerated

📢 Preprint - not peer-reviewed🤞: Development of #immunity to #StrepA in The Gambia. We assessed IgG to conserved and M protein antigens across the life course, exploring association with protection against infection: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... #IDSky #Immunosky

With @jrpenades.bsky.social, we challenged Google AI co-scientist to generate hypotheses. In just 2 days, it recapitulated our unpublished, experimentally confirmed mechanism for how cf-PICIs spread between bacterial species! @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social tinyurl.com/3byyaeh2

Week 7 of my Bayes stats course, now deep in multilevel models, correlated effects, centered and non-centered parameterizations, diag(σ)LZ ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn (link to lectures: github.com/rmcelreath/s...)

A new frontier in #flu immunity? 🦠 Led by @cchiu.bsky.social, the GERMINATE study will use human challenge studies to find out how #respiratory immunity is built, which could transform flu #vaccines and protect severe disease. www.imperial.ac.uk/news/260093/... @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲: 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗔𝗠𝗥 Staphylococcus aureus evolves antibiotic resistance rapidly in diabetic mice, as hyperglycemia aids the expansion and takeover of resistant mutants VISA strains have a large fitness defect in control mice but not in diabetic mice ➡️ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Excited to say that in collaboration with colleagues in Australia @latrobeuni.bsky.social we got NHMRC funding to use SpyCATS cohort to build state of the art #StrepA transmission models. Hope to ultimately better understand household transmission & help target interventions in high burden settings.

📣Research Technician job alert! Needed to support our #iSpyLIFE field work and #strep biobanking. www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

Is there still rheumatic fever in the UK? bit.ly/3Py0X1P Join our @rcpch.bsky.social webinar next Friday to hear the answer as well as get a refresher on the clinical features and how we make or refute the diagnosis. #strepA #GAS #RHD #IDSky #PaedsSky #PaedsIDSky

NEW PREPRINT! Enjoyed working with @tom-parks.bsky.social and @petedodd24.bsky.social on immortal time bias In its simplest form, ITB results from misallocation of person time, i.e. pre treatment time in intervention group being counted as time on treatment www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... [1/n]

Did you know our immune response to Strep A changes throughout our "LiFE"? iSpy LIFE is studying these changes to develop better prevention strategies for all ages, including new vaccines and treatments. #iSpyLIFE #StrepA #ImperialCollegeMedicine #PublicHealth www.imperial.ac.uk/news/251477/...

What secrets does Strep A hold across the "LiFE" cycle? The iSpy Life network is on a mission to find out. Join us on a journey as we explore the complexities of Strep A immunity! #StrepResearch #iSpyLife #Streptococcus #StrepA #GAS #StreptococcusPyogenes #unveilingthemystery #Imperialcollege

What makes bacteria resistant to antibiotics and why is Antimicrobial Resistance a growing global threat? 🤔 Our Prof Shiranee Sriskandan & Dr Andrew Edwards share their insights during #WorldAMRAwarenessWeek #WAAW #Science #HealthSky #AMR www.imperial.ac.uk/news/258500/...