Isaac Bogoch

World AIDS Day is on Dec. 1.

Since 2004, global deaths have been in decline due to greater access to diagnostics, treatment & prevention.

This hard-won progress is now at risk due to major cuts to global public health.

We can't afford to go backward.

More data outlining how COVID vaccines reduce the risk of hospitalizations & death, especially among those aged 65 and older.

This aligns nicely with recommendations from Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization. 🇨🇦

Link: tinyurl.com/yuwmmtt4 by Hansen et al.

Is a bad flu season on the way? Experts see reason to be anxious There are early indications that this flu season could be a bad one.

Mutations in #H3N2 #flu viruses have some experts worried we're facing a second bad #influenza season. The new variant, subclade K, may be able to escape antibodies generated by previous infections or this year's flu shot. But some experts are hedging their bets. www.statnews.com/2025/11/20/f...

Update on the wild #polio discovery in Germany: The virus was found in wastewater in Hamburg. @rki.de, the German public health agency, says the virus sequence is very similar to some isolated in Afghanistan, so the likely source was an infected human. (page 10 here: www.rki.de/DE/Aktuelles...)

Someone in Germany is shedding poliovirus - a crippling disease which should be eradicated.

This is another stark reminder of the risks we face when global vaccination coverage slips.

Link: tinyurl.com/y8t73dyc

Exciting to see a new compound showing promise against malaria.

As drug resistance grows, mosquito ranges expand & public health resources remain limited, the need for new treatments has never been greater.

tinyurl.com/42wb2efe by @kakape.bsky.social
.

Canada has lost its measles elimination status...a sad milestone.

Now is the time to double down on lowering barriers to routine childhood immunizations and ensuring Canadians have access to credible, science-based information.

Link: tinyurl.com/c8nfxvk3

Influenza cases are climbing in Canada.

Flu shots are widely available, and can help lower the chance of infection and hospitalization.

Below are this year’s flu trends (arrow) vs. the past three years.

Antimicrobial resistance kills over a million people yearly.

I joined colleagues before the House of Commons Committee on Science & Research to discuss how Canada can help fight this threat.

Local action matters but global coordination is essential. 🇨🇦

➡️ tinyurl.com/3sfdvzt2

@paulsaxmd.bsky.social knocks it out of the park with his analysis on 2 new COVID vaccine studies.

If you want data, nuance & common sense, have a read.

Key takeaway: COVID vaccine makes sense for those at greatest risk for severe infection (eg. elderly).

Link: tinyurl.com/yc63e9c2

Attending the Global Conference on Biological Threat Reduction in Geneva with colleagues from around the world to strengthen strategies against infectious disease outbreaks, whether natural, accidental, or deliberate. Great to see Canada taking a leadership role in this sphere.🇨🇦

2/ Links:

Ontario Covid/Flu Vaccine info: ontario.ca/vaccine-loca...

Australia flu season info:
tinyurl.com/yv7yxzup

The southern hemisphere offers an imperfect but useful preview of our flu season, and they had a tough one: High case numbers & lower vaccine uptake among those most at risk.

Flu shots in Ontario for high risk folks are available now & to the general public starting next week.

A locally acquired case of Chikungunya virus in New York State? This is a first.

Chikungunya is a mosquito-transmitted infection that can cause impressive (and sometimes lasting) joint pain and inflammation.

Link: tinyurl.com/57ue229x

New 🇨🇦 data in @cmaj.ca (from BC) showing relatively strong population-level measles immunity.

Outbreaks are likely to be more focal in under-vaccinated groups.

Some age cohorts are still <90% immune, so maintaining high vaccine coverage remains key.

Link: tinyurl.com/4tz5eftj

Our team is developing portable digital microscopes that harness AI to automatically detect parasitic infections.

This shows great potential to help public health programs expand access to affordable disease screening in low-resource settings.

Link: tinyurl.com/4bazch67

Glad to see this finally coming to an end…

“The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) shows signs of containment, with no new confirmed or probable cases reported since our last update”
Some cautious good news from @who.int
#IDSky

hq_who_departmentofcommunications.cmail19.com/t/d-l-ggllll...

Premature baby dies of measles in Alberta outbreak's 1st death | CBC News Alberta is reporting its first measles death since outbreaks of the highly contagious illness began in March. The province says a baby, who was born prematurely after the mother became sick, died shor...

So tragic: Alberta baby born with congenital #measles (mother contracted measles late in pregnancy) died shortly after birth.
The province, which has had a massive measles outbreak this year, says this is the 7th case of congenital measles in 2025. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

To our American friends who may now be struggling to find health information on US websites: Please check out the Public Health Agency of Canada's website for helpful resources, updated dashboards & practical health tips.

🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

canada.ca/en/public-he...

Although the genetic fingerprint has shifted a bit, there is absolutely nothing new from a clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic, or preventive perspective.

Are we really going to do this every time the virus mutates, which it will continue to do frequently & indefinitely?

Link: tinyurl.com/3kt32bm9

Marburg Virus Disease in Rwanda, 2024 — Public Health and Clinical Responses | NEJM On September 27, 2024, Rwanda reported an outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD), after a cluster of cases of viral hemorrhagic fever was detected at two urban hospitals. We report key aspects of ...

Report of the 2024 #marburg outbreak in #rwanda. The response successfully treated two patients in the icu, simultaneously ran vaccine and treatment trials and effectively contained the outbreak. 15/66 cases died. They gave the world a lesson in outbreak response.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

A tremendous resource for anyone rotating through the Infectious Diseases service 👆👆👆👆

YouTube video by FirstcallID FirstcallID - How to do an Infectious Diseases consultation

🆕 Introducing FirstCallID
🎓 Practical ID teaching for busy clinicians

🚨 Ep 1 is live: How to Do an ID Consult
✔️ What to ask
✔️ What to notice
✔️ What your attending actually cares about

📺 Direct link to video: youtu.be/W1mrYwpxLK0
📘 Follow for updates: @firstcallid.bsky.social

#idsky #medsky

Fantastic stuff. Thank you.

Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, speaks at a news conference at Queen's Park in Toronto on April 11, 2022. Nathan Denette/ The Canadian Press file photo

Ontario needs a vaccination registry: Kieran Moore https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/ontario-needs-a-vaccination-registry-to-identify-coverage-gaps-top-doctor-says/article_9ce14bd7-d362-42ea-9b07-94f37827c133.html

More news → CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁

A Policy to Override Policy.

Every leader & administrator in Healthcare/Public Health (clinical, research, education) should be required to watch this 10 min clip.

This creates systems to improve patient care, research & education.

By @BradSpellberg

tinyurl.com/yc5chesw

More tick-borne illnesses showing up in Canada: a case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) likely acquired at Emma Lake, SK.

RMSF has also been found in dogs in southern ON & in a person in QC who may have caught it in ON.

tinyurl.com/ybuefba2 by Alex Kozroski.

COVID cases are beginning to rise in Canada. While rates remain lower than at this time in recent years, they are still trending upward.

Health Canada has also just approved a new COVID vaccine for the fall rollout, targeting LP.8.1 (a sublineage of Omicron).

🇨🇦