@jeffreycjones.bsky.social
Infectious Diseases MD in San Antonio, TX
The role of perturbation of our circadian clock plays in promoting the fibrosis (scarring) of organs
www.jci.org/articles/vie...
Figure 1. Timeline describing the transmission of Rickettsia typhi from an organ donor to 2 kidney transplant recipients, Texas, 2024. Day 1 of donor hospitalization is represented as −5, the day of death as −1, and the day of transplantation as 0, after which posttransplant days are listed, ending with the discharge of recipient 1 from the hospital on posttransplant day 20.
Figure 2. Chest radiographs from an organ donor with murine typhus, from a study describing the transmission of Rickettsia typhi from an organ donor to 2 kidney transplant recipients, Texas, 2024. A) Chest radiograph obtained at hospital admission, 5 days after symptom onset, with no specific abnormalities noted. B) Chest radiograph obtained on hospital day 3, revealing extensive alveolar opacities predominantly in the middle and lower lung fields.
Figure 3. Histopathological and immunohistochemical features of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens collected from the right and left kidney allografts procured from a donor who died of murine typhus, from a study describing the transmission of Rickettsia typhi from an organ donor to 2 kidney transplant recipients, Texas, 2024. A) When stained with hematoxylin and eosin, both allografts showed multifocal, interstitial, and predominantly mononuclear peritubular infiltrates, associated with focal endarteritis (thin arrows), features of acute tubular injury, including epithelial attenuation with loss of apical cytoplasm (thin arrowheads), and pigmented casts (large arrow). B) Glomeruli displayed moderate mesangial hypercellularity and tuft adhesions to the Bowman’s capsules (arrows) and intracapillary and mesangial phagocytic foam-cells (arrowheads), That finding is compatible with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. C) Short chains comprising small, rod-shaped bacteria were revealed in glomerular capillaries by the Warthin–Starry silver impregnation staining technique. Immunoreactive R. typhi antigens were noted within intracellular bacteria in endothelial cells of renal arterioles. D–F) An immunohistochemical stain for typhus-group rickettsiae revealed intact bacteria within endothelial cells of inflamed small vessels and vascular spaces of mesangial capillaries (arrows) and phagocytized bacterial antigens in the cytoplasm of glomerular foam-cells (arrows). Original magnifications ×400 (A, B and E) and ×1,000 (C, D, and F).
Figure 4. Annual case counts of murine typhus in Texas, USA, during 1920–2024. Cases increased from close to zero to ~ 500 in 1930s before spiking to ~2000 in 1940s, then back down close to zero by 1950s, and remained near zero until started creeping back up in 2000s, steadily increasing, now with ~800 cases/year
Donor-derived infections with Rickettsia typhi (agent of murine typhus) in 2 kidney transplant recipients (1 fatal)
Teaching points
- 🐭 typhus transmitted by fleas (& transplant)
- Cases 📈 in Texas
- Death of diffuse 🫁 , 🧠 edema w/o dx=👎 tx
- cfDNA MGS (Karius) can dx
wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...
"Politics is not the nursery."
www.unpopularfront.news/p/this-is-it
Once almost eradicated from Texas, flea borne typhus is making a comeback in the United States. Texas has one of the highest rates of typhus in the country.
Read More👉 www.tpr.org/bioscience-medi...
For us ID doctors, the CDC has been a rock. Data, guidelines, surveillance, travel advice -- all there, vetted by experts, referenced, reliable. Perfect? No. But watching its dismantling now breaks my heart. Some thoughts: blogs.jwatch.org/hiv-id-obser...
30.08.2025 05:30 — 👍 79 🔁 29 💬 6 📌 4Tire pressure checkpoints at strategic intersections
27.08.2025 12:43 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
MIT’s NANDA initiative found that 95% of generative AI deployments fail after interviewing 150 execs, surveying 350 workers, and analyzing 300 projects. The real “productivity gains” seem to come from layoffs and squeezing more work from fewer people not AI.
20.08.2025 04:51 — 👍 2530 🔁 1087 💬 51 📌 331RFK Jr. backs down all the time when he gets push back, so if anyone wants to call, here's the HHS number 1-877-696-6775.
I'd also call your senators/reps as well.
JUST IN: HHS shuts down BARDA mRNA vaccine program
Scrapping the fastest platform we have is a reckless move rooted in a fundamental misunderstanding of vaccinology. No respiratory vaccine blocks all infections. mRNA vaccines have saved millions of lives.
www.hhs.gov/press-room/h...
“Performative resistance“
21.03.2025 02:22 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Watch for their archive sales occasionally you can get a (relative) bargain
01.03.2025 19:37 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Can always chicken out and wear as separates
27.02.2025 22:43 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Marcus Edsall-Parr is pictured in the hospital as he gets dialysis treatments. He is using his iPad and wearing headphones. Text reads: "Organ Transplant System 'In Chaos' as Waiting Lists Are Ignored" Photo by Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times
For decades, fairness has been the guiding principle of the American organ transplant system. But today, nearly 20% of the time, officials ignore strict rules meant to ensure that donated organs are offered to the patients who need them most, a New York Times investigation found. nyti.ms/3XlqVK1
27.02.2025 20:10 — 👍 272 🔁 105 💬 22 📌 4Striking how easily you can get millions of people to vote for a boot on their own face just by lying to them about the boot going on someone else's face.
26.02.2025 16:49 — 👍 7707 🔁 1695 💬 122 📌 79Hey man sorry to hear about all your political turmoil. Would it help if I scrolled around on the computer all day and drove myself insane?
06.02.2025 13:54 — 👍 15555 🔁 2470 💬 160 📌 69
This is, by far, the best and most complete description of what is currently happening to biomedical research in the United States. Derek Lowe normally writes an incredibly level-headed column on drug discovery in academia and the private sector. www.science.org/content/blog...
05.02.2025 17:54 — 👍 19 🔁 16 💬 1 📌 0Everyone seems to be framing Trump's freeze on federal grants as a Constitutional fight over powers of the purse & whether presidents can disregard Congressional appropriations. It is that. But also at stake is the fundamental validity of government contracts! I see much less discussion on this... 🧵
31.01.2025 21:36 — 👍 2839 🔁 934 💬 66 📌 131Love that it’s normal to analyze our president like he’s a raccoon
31.01.2025 01:52 — 👍 210 🔁 28 💬 3 📌 0
Had never seen this before I'm crying. How does it just keep getting worse. Bro cooking nothing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=59NV...
13.01.2025 16:56 — 👍 924 🔁 148 💬 71 📌 72
Call the Capitol Switchboard. Tell your friends to do the same. Speak to your Senator. VOTE NO. (202) 224-3121 www.cbsnews.com/news/doctors...
10.01.2025 10:33 — 👍 351 🔁 185 💬 5 📌 9
Nice story about a great camp near Duluth founded for kids with HIV is for sale. Because there aren't enough kids who need it anymore.
www.startribune.com/closure-of-n...
Infectious diseases is not only about the latest trials and big cohort studies.
So, here is a list of my favourite pieces that you might missed from The Lancet Infectious Diseases in 2024 that reflect on the field at large, in no specific order.
#IDSky
A bill to break up UnitedHealth, CVS, Cigna and more has been introduced by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives.
The legislation would force insurers to sell their pharmacy businesses.
It aims to combat PBMs, pharma middlemen who drive up costs.
I don't know who needs to know this, but Pro Publica has an online thing that will format a letter to your US health insurance company to demand the records behind a claim denial. (which the insurance is then legally required to provide in most cases)
projects.propublica.org/claimfile/
