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You have never experienced epic congestion
@boghuma.bsky.social
Physician Scientist MDPhD Infectious Diseases Academic Medicine Global Health Science Communicator Posts are my opinions, not my employer's and not medical advice I bet on myself and double down https://substack.com/@bktitanji
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You have never experienced epic congestion
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I confess even as an ID doc my first reaction was "Eww"
Hey, the science is plausible. Only on way to find out.
06.03.2026 00:34 β π 8 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Actually fecal transplants can be a life line for patients with recurring c diff infections. When it works it's amazing π. I know it had a gross factor but the science is solid.
06.03.2026 00:28 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
I was today years old when I found out you can get a "snort transplant" to treat chronic nasal congestion.
Transplant of nasal microbiota may improve symptoms of chronic rhino-sinusitis.
Because I know this, you must now know this too π.
www.newscientist.com/article/2494...
For anyone interested in global health this is a phenomenal tracker of the America first MOUs which are defining a new era of US global health engagement.
www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/trac...
As a women who has had several PAP smears. It is an uncomfortable and painful procedure. A highly effective and less invasive diagnostic modality will be very welcome by all individuals who have a cervix!
04.03.2026 16:59 β π 21 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
Cervical cancer prevention is already one of medicineβs greatest successes thanks to HPV vaccination and screening.
Innovations like this could help close the remaining gap, especially for women who never make it into the clinic.
There are still questions. This was a diagnostic accuracy study in one region of China, among women with regular cycles. Implementation, cost, and real-world screening uptake still need to be tested. But the concept is compelling.
04.03.2026 16:46 β π 8 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Many women skip screening because pelvic exams are uncomfortable, stigmatized, inaccessible, or simply logistically difficult. A self-collected menstrual sample could make screening: less invasive, easier to access and scalable in low-resource settings.
04.03.2026 16:46 β π 6 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Women with positive tests or abnormal cytology underwent colposcopy with biopsy to confirm disease. The results were striking.
For detecting high-grade cervical lesions (CIN2+):
- Menstrual blood HPV test sensitivity: 94.7%
- Standard cervical HPV test: 92.1%
This is a remarkable study. A simple sanitary pad could transform cervical cancer screening. Researchers enrolled 3,000+ women (age 20β54) & compared 2 approaches:
Standard clinician-collected cervical HPV test
HPV testing from menstrual blood collected on a sanitary pad
www.bmj.com/content/392/...
In 75-79 year olds in UK, the RSV Pre-F vaccine remains highly effective in the real world. 82.3% vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization due to RSV-associated acute respiratory infection and 86.7% effectiveness against severe disease requiring oxygen
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Terrifying is an apt description. It's really sad to witness.
03.03.2026 23:25 β π 5 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0It's important to note that all programs to resettle refugees from these countries have effectively be halted except for White South Africans. Visa processing and travel restrictions also target many of these countries.
03.03.2026 23:19 β π 22 π 3 π¬ 0 π 0So far only Zimbabwe and Zambia have pushed back. It is very sad to see a return to colonial models of aid funding which seek to plunder and exploit vulnerable populations. Aid is not always good, sometimes aid can cause harm if it is rooted in exploitation.
03.03.2026 23:17 β π 52 π 11 π¬ 2 π 0Countries in Africa which have agreed to new health aid packages contingent on greater access to minerals and sharing the sensitive health information of Africans.
The new controversial health funding aid packages which are replacing USAID to align with America first agenda of the current administration are reportedly linked to granting US greater access to mineral resources and harvesting sensitive health data of Africans w little reciprocity or protections
03.03.2026 23:15 β π 67 π 38 π¬ 3 π 4
The mass psychosis over Ivermectin as a "cure all" miracle drug did not end w COVID. It's being embraced as a cure for cancer in right wing circles.
If you have scabies or a parasitic worm infection it ivermectin helps.
It is NOT effective chemotherapy for any cancer!
www.npr.org/2026/03/02/n...
and their work on poxviruses. I didn't feel too bad because my external examiner did not know who Luria and Bertani were either. Robin Weiss was a pioneer in virology and is most famous for his work on retroviruses and identifying CD4 on lymphocytes as the binding receptor for HIV.
03.03.2026 17:45 β π 12 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
A fun anecdote is he asked me during my viva" Do you know who Luria and Bertani were?" because I had many cloning experiments in my thesis and LB broth was cited many times in my methods.
My answer was "the guys who made the broth"? π"
He then went to enlighten me on the Nobel winning virologists
Sad to hear about the death of Robin Weiss. I was the last PhD candidate he examined at UCL as an internal examiner. As stressful as a viva can be, he put me right at ease and though his questions were probing he was kind and thoughtful. The three hours were a breeze.
03.03.2026 17:45 β π 37 π 4 π¬ 2 π 0The EMA has issued a positive scientific opinion on acoziborole, a major step toward regulatory approval in endemic countries. Sanofi has pledged to donate the drug to WHO for distribution FREE of charge. Thatβs critical for a dz of extreme poverty where cost and access define real-world impact.
03.03.2026 16:47 β π 15 π 1 π¬ 2 π 0This is what real global health progress looks like: incremental, evidence-based, field-tested innovation that makes implementation feasible. If deployment is funded and sustained, acoziborole could push gambiense HAT from βcontrolledβ to truly eliminated as a public health problem.
03.03.2026 16:47 β π 16 π 2 π¬ 1 π 0Sustained surveillance, active case finding, diagnostic capacity, and tsetse control remain essential for elimination. There are still unanswered questions about asymptomatic reservoirs and transmission dynamics. But simplification of treatment removes one of the biggest logistical bottlenecks.
03.03.2026 16:47 β π 8 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0As cases have fallen (<1,000 reported globally in recent years), the remaining cases are harder to find often in remote, low-resource settings. A single-dose oral regimen enables screen-and-treat campaigns without lumbar punctures or complex infrastructure. Easing the βlast mileβ of elimination.
03.03.2026 16:47 β π 7 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0Human African trypanosomiasis, is a tsetse-flyβtransmitted parasitic disease that is uniformly fatal if untreated. For decades, treatment required staging with lumbar puncture and either toxic arsenic derivatives or prolonged IV regimens. Even fexinidazole still required 10days of oral therapy.
03.03.2026 16:47 β π 8 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0
In today's good news a single dose drug for sleeping sickness that could completely change the elimination game. Dare I hope for eradication!
Acoziborole administered as a single oral dose was ~95% effective across both early and late-stage disease in RCTs.
www.science.org/content/arti...
Let's not forget that this highly and durably effective vaccine which is on track to eliminate cervical cancer in countries that adopted it early and have had good up take is the next target on RFK.Jr's ACIP list.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/human-papill...
The HPV vaccine is durably AMAZING.A massive Swedish registry study w 18 years of follow-up found no waning protection against invasive cervical cancer. If vaccinated before age 17, cancer risk is cut by ~80%. Even those vaccinated later still had substantial protection.
www.bmj.com/content/392/...
Yup all but certain now. Will be made official at the PAHO meeting next month.
www.bmj.com/content/392/...