It's a myth, Charlie Brown. You CAN put hot food in the refrigerator. Divide large amounts into smaller portions and get them in within 2 hours. Bacteria can grow rapidly on food left out at room temp for +2 hours. More food safety myths at doh.wa.gov/you-and-your...

Been laying low on bluesky for a couple of months now, but I'm happy to announce a new data dashboard from @capublichealth.bsky.social. The C. auris & Carbapenemase-producing Organism (CPO) dashboard is up and running! Please share with anyone who might be interested www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHC...

New episode alert! @sundermannaj.bsky.social #microbiology

Makary and Prasad have a sounding board piece written in NEJM about the future of COVID-19 vaccine regulation at the FDA. Some thoughts:

CDC NHSN training videos and case studies are missing. “Removed by the uploader.” Trump administration EOs are a menace to daily functioning.

Here’s how our medical establishment has discussed boosters for years. This was made after an RCT of booster dose 1, which showed the vaccine worked, and right before the omicron wave. Behold the seriousness, thoughtfulness, and maturity. youtu.be/LB2VRT3H-Co

📅 #TidyTuesday Week 18: National Science Foundation Grant Terminations under the Trump Administration 📊 Treemap shows the distribution by NSF directorate and division 🔗 Code: bit.ly/3YwiDQg 🛠️ First time making a treemap - open to any suggestions on improving the look or clarity! #RStats #DataViz

Part 2 of raw milk! Today we get into the alleged health claims we've all seen circulating our social media feeds and contrast the (lack of) data to support these claims with the very real data on the risks of raw milk. If you've been searching for a deep dive, oh wow, you are going to love this.

Just to be clear, this is a violation of the fundamental ethical principle in clinical trial design called "equipoise." Equipoise means that no-one is exposed to excess risk just to test the therapy. That's specifically *why* vaccine trials don't use placebo arms. Ethical violation as POLICY.

Real-time sequencing a promising tool for hospital outbreak detection, study finds Researchers at a Pittsburgh hospital found prospective whole-genome sequencing enabled rapid identification and control of outbreaks. www.cidrap.umn.edu/h...

Donald Trump, famously a critic of conspicuous consumption www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/u...

Uganda stopped a Sudan Ebola virus outbreak in under 3 months. No chaos. Just fast action, local leadership, and a rapidly implemented vaccine trial. Maybe the problem isn’t capacity in Africa after all—maybe it’s the story we keep telling about it. open.substack.com/pub/bktitanj...

Governor Gavin Newsom arbitrarily demanded remote-centered state workers commmute to the office 4 days a week, adding tens of thousands of cars to California freeways

every shot a masterpiece

Made it to #SHEASpring 2025 - first talk hearing from @jlsalinas.bsky.social on climate change & HAI! #IDSky

Kawhi: “Take those gatorades down… kids don’t need to be drinking that”

Well the NIH has cancelled the Women's Health Initiative, the largest study of women in history It has been running continuously since 1991 and has provided massive key knowledge about diseases in women Unreal www.science.org/content/arti...

As someone who works at the fringes of genomic epi (trying to level up!), I love this graphic

Fabulous speaker lineup for the 2025 Scientific Meeting on Candida auris organized by the University of Miami Division of ID! Covering basic science, epi, infection prevention and clinical management. Register and join! 🍄 #IDSky med.miami.edu/departments/...

Over/under 90 days until Loren Taylor helps launch a recall

For excellent disease outbreak coverage and analysis, you should be following Mike Coston, @fla-medic.bsky.social.

Oakland now has a run of four consecutive female mayors, three of whom were women of color. Congratulations Mayor Lee!

Measles outbreak now at 800, but this outbreak is just getting started --> CDC: vax rate among kindergarteners is now below the 95% coverage target—much lower in some communities—and is decreasing --> Map of vax coverage (orange is where vax rate is under the target 95%)

#SomeGoodNews: A new report examined the rollout of the #RSV vaccine among older adults in England in the fall of 2024, finding a significant drop in hospitalizations for those eligible for the new vaccine. Read more here: jenndowd.substack.com/p/some-good-... #Publichealth #episky #medsky

WE ARE BACK

I haven’t told anyone that I work in public health...but there are signs. Happy National Public Health Week to all of the unsung heroes keeping our communities safe and healthy! 📲 For more tips, visit cdph.ca.gov. #NPHW

Some interesting epidemiology here. The CDC estimates that Indiana's 1-dose MMR rate for 19-35 month old kids is 90.8%. This is based on a series of randomly-dialled telephone questionnaires. These are high-quality surveys, but are they correct. Well...

The CDC's cruise ship inspectors have been laid off, as well as agency's head epidemiologist for investigating cruise ship outbreaks That baffled health officials since this program is paid for by cruise ship fees, not taxpayer dollars www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-cru...

CNN story on lead poisoning & HHS/CDC's inability to act: Wisconsin asked the CDC for help with lead poisoning cases in Milwaukee but CDC had to cancel because HHS Secretary laid off all the CDC lead poisoning experts! Screenshot below of Ex CDC Director Tom Frieden's '09-'17 comments today #medsky

One of my least favorite things about social media is the way it encourages flat-out meanness, even for people who are not mean by nature. People lose all sense of proportional response. It's war, all the time. To be constantly dehumanizing one other can't be healthy.

Exposure to agricultural fungicide tebuconazole causes genetic changes in Candida tropicalis, leading to haploid cells & resistance to agricultural & clinical azoles. Findings show a link between fungicide use & antifungal resistance. #IDsky #MEDsky Learn more: www.contagionlive.com/view/environ...

I know a lot of people aren't ready to hear this, but we aren't in this mess b/c of WaPo headline writers or placement of stories too far down the NYT homepsge. The people we need to persuade aren't subscribers in the first place!

New measles death in TX - a child. C/w last week: CURRENT CASE COUNT: 569 Texas: 481 (+59) New Mexico: 54 (+6) Oklahoma: 10 Kansas: 24 (+1) HOSPITALIZATIONS: 58 (+14) Texas: 56 (+14) have been hospitalized, 11.6%. New Mexico: 2 (No change). This is 4.5% of NM cases. DEATHS: 3 (+1)

@maddow.msnbc.com A six pack of protests across the country! HUGE turnouts all across the country! YES!

Huge crowd for #handsoff protest in Oakland! Really something to see, great energy all around

In 1392 Richard II eliminated tariffs on eel imports, & asked foreign merchants to bring eels "from over sea, where they are abundant, to London where they are dear." He knew that higher tariffs meant getting less of what you want. Oh, the lessons that eel history can teach us... 🗃️🧪

SCOOP: Alongside extensive reductions to the staff, the Trump administration has asked CDC to cut $2.9 billion of its spending on contracts. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/h...

This was a very nasty, highly drug resistant Pseudomonas, causing infections all over the US. Without coordination from between states with CDC and FDA, no chance this outbreak would have been stopped as quickly as it was

Maybe, it turns out that we are more on this planet than we thought (?). Humans living in rural areas of the world mighe be systematically underestimated. 🧪🌐🌎⛰️ H/t: @dgbassani.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Cory Booker should be considered the early front runner for Democratic nominee in 2028

Hearing from all corners of HHS this morning about a total bloodletting — firings of scientists, analysts and many more as delayed RIFs take effect. Many folks didn’t see early AM email and showed up, only to be turned away when badges didn’t work. Was sent this photo of long lines at one HHS site.

How I will remember April Fools' Day 2025. Reckless. My heart is out for these dedicated folks at NIH, FDA and CDC www.statnews.com/2025/04/01/h...

Started/Going. Two infants died of pertussis in Louisiana, where last month the state’s surgeon general banned health department staff from encouraging vaccination.

#EpiSky #Maine "His team of about 50 people was responsible for collecting data and tracking infectious diseases in Maine."

Have you ever wondered: Which antibiotics are most common? How much is used in livestock? How do antibiotics even work? Which countries monitor antibiotic resistance? We have a new page on Our World in Data with data on all of these & more! Check it out: ourworldindata.org/antibiotics

🤦There’s a 2023 US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that explicitly warns about the dangers of boom-and-bust public health funding It doesn’t say “cut COVID funding” It literally warns us of the negative effects the "bust" has Well… here we are. Again. 📄: www.gao.gov/products/gao...

Breaking News: Utah became the first state to ban the addition of fluoride to drinking water, a move medical experts say could harm oral health. nyti.ms/442KESV

Imagine telling researchers on the frontlines of cancer, infection, or rare disease that their work is now considered ‘entitlement’ 🤷🏼‍♂️ These aren’t handouts - they’re investments in health, innovation, and lives This chart should alarm every single one of us 📉

Happy opening day! For the first time in 50+ years, Oakland officially has no team to root for. Its with a heavy heart that I place a CURSE on the Sacramento/Las Vegas Athletics, who from this day forward shall NOT make the post season for a period of 10 years. Plus their new hat is just stupid

"W/o access 2 accurate & timely data, scientists’ work will become more difficult & we'll understand less abt the 🌎 Docs & #publichealth practitioners will need 2 make the same challngng decisions, but w/less info. Public health experts will have more trble IDing trends in #disease ..." #IDSky 1/2