Emma Thomson

Good luck @erinharvey.bsky.social

Public health Our recent highlights in the field of public health, including epidemiological studies investigating the social, environmental, genetic, and behavioural ...

🎉 We are very excited to have our recent @naturecomms.bsky.social publication chosen to be featured on a Editors’ Highlights webpage specific to public health.

www.nature.com/collections/...

@emcat1.bsky.social & Shirin Ashraf

Uncovering the viral aetiology of undiagnosed acute febrile illness in Uganda using metagenomic sequencing - Nature Communications Acute febrile illness is common in sub-Saharan Africa and causative agents are often unknown. Here, the authors perform metagenomic sequencing on samples from patients with acute febrile illness in Ug...

Huge effort from @UVRIug @The_MRC @lshtm.bsky.social @cvrinfo.bsky.social . A cross-continental, cross-disciplinary collaboration.
📄 Read the full paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

NGS isn’t cheap—but for public health intelligence + surveillance in LMICs, it’s incredibly powerful. This approach reveals what’s circulating, not just what we’re looking for.

Common respiratory + GI viruses were also picked up in serum—rhinovirus, enterovirus, rotavirus. Suggests that viraemia may play a role in systemic illness, especially in children.

Widespread human exposure to ledanteviruses in Uganda: A population study Author summary Understanding the viruses capable of human infection is important for outbreak prevention and early intervention in viral epidemics. Le Dantec virus (LDV) is a member of the viral genus...

We also found Le Dantec virus, a rhabdovirus and went on to develop an ELISA and pseudovirus neutralisation assay, then in a parallel paper we mapped exposure—high in some Ugandan regions, absent in others. journals.plos.org/plosntds/art...

We detected VHF viruses including CCHFV in patients who’d never have been tested. Silent transmission, undetected by routine surveillance. The CCHFV work has now seeded an international partnership to investigate prevalence in ticks, livestock & humans across Uganda.

We used agnostic + targeted sequencing to uncover viral causes of acute febrile illness (AFI) where standard diagnostics fail. This isn’t likely to be cost-effective for individual diagnosis—but it’s vital for understanding transmission + emergence at a population level.

Uncovering the viral aetiology of undiagnosed acute febrile illness in Uganda using metagenomic sequencing - Nature Communications Acute febrile illness is common in sub-Saharan Africa and causative agents are often unknown. Here, the authors perform metagenomic sequencing on samples from patients with acute febrile illness in Ug...

New in Nature Comms: We applied metagenomic + targeted NGS to serum from febrile patients in Uganda. Post-COVID, LMICs have sequencing infrastructure that could be repurposed for pathogen discovery.
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

211677 - Clinical Research Fellow in Infectious Diseases (MCD):Western General Hospital

We are looking for a research fellow for our clinical infection research group. Apply now. @emcat1.bsky.social @drtoniho.bsky.social @nhsresearchscotland.org.uk @edinburghaccord.bsky.social @nhslothian.bsky.social @ukri.org apply.jobs.scot.nhs.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Ten lockdown lessons to learn for next time Five years since Boris Johnson ordered the UK to stay home, steps to prepare for the next national emergency are clearer

Today is the 5-year anniversary of the first #COVID19 lockdown in UK.

Really important to reflect on lessons we have (or haven't) learnt, as the threat of another pandemic is higher than ever.

Glad that @emcat1.bsky.social & I could contribute to this.👇

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

Can’t wait :)

A vibrant pink and purple digital graphic promoting HPV vaccination and screening. The bold, white text reads, "How can you help tackle HPV? VACCINATE & SCREEN." On the right side, additional text states, "HPV affects us all. Let's tackle it together for ONE LESS WORRY." The "One Less Worry" slogan is inside a geometric, colourful shape. The background includes playful illustrations such as smiley faces, stars, and a brain. The bottom right corner features the hashtag "#onelessworry" and the website "AskAboutHPV.org."

How can you help tackle HPV? VACCINATE & SCREEN

CVR researchers are working hard to develop new tests to catch early warning signs more accurately—potentially streamlining cervical screening and reducing patient stress.

www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

#HPVAwarenessDay

Statement on Removal of Vaccine Promotion and ACIP Meeting Postponement

Infectious Disease Society of America issues a statement on the political interference with the CDC vaccine information and the advisory committee on immunisation www.idsociety.org/news--public...

Are you affected by firings at federal health agencies? Have you been affected by firings at federal health agencies? @statnews would like to hear from you.

If you are one of the #CDC #HHS #FDA #NIH employees who have learned today that your employment is being abruptly ended, we want to hear from you. @altcdc.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/f...

Hi

Thank you Nick!

Near Real-Time Genomic Characterization of the 2025 Sudan Ebolavirus Outbreak in Uganda’s Index Case: Insights into Evolutionary Origins Introduction Case History: On January 30, 2025, the Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Sudan Ebola Virus (SUDV) Disease in Kampala, Uganda, following the death of a healthcare worker at Mula...

Wow - a super-fast effort to sequence a sample from the recent SUDV case in Kampala, Uganda 🇺🇬 - showing a closer link to sequences from 2012 than 2022, suggesting that this is a new outbreak. virological.org/t/near-real-...

NIH appears to have canceled/postponed all of its study sections—the independent review panels that approve federal grants for health research.

Such grants fund the work/salaries of 300k people at more than 2,500 institutions

Bravo!

L’Institut Pasteur a décidé de quitter X L’Institut Pasteur, organisme de recherche engagé depuis plus de 130 ans dans la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses, le partage des connaissances et la défense de la science, a décidé de quitter l...

L’Institut Pasteur décide de quitter X (ex-Twitter) pour rejoindre BlueSky ! 🦋
L’Institut Pasteur a pris cette décision en raison de plusieurs dérives graves constatées sur la plateforme X depuis son rachat. Rejoignez-nous pour continuer à défendre la science ! www.pasteur.fr/fr/espace-pr...

Good news on a H5N1 vaccine efficacy in a preclinical model in case it is needed
science.org/doi/10.1126/...

CDC confirms first severe H5N1 case in US patient

CDC confirms first severe H5N1 case in US patient www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influe...

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone Begins Nationwide Vaccination Campaign Against Ebola Press Release - Sierra Leone becomes the first country, among those most severely affected ten years ago by the West Africa Ebola outbreak, to launch nationwide preventive Ebola vaccination, targeting...

A Decade After the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, Sierra Leone Begins a New Chapter With Nation-Wide Preventive Vaccination of Frontline Workers allafrica.com/stories/2024...

A REALLY big flavi-like virus...https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.08.574764v1.full.pdf

Preliminary analysis of 98 genomic sequences of MPXV clade Ib cases from Burundi, July to September 2024 Preliminary analysis of 98 genomic sequences of MPXV clade Ib cases from Burundi, July to September 2024 Introduction A large mpox clade Ib virus outbreak started in the province of South Kivu in th...

Fabulous work with colleagues in Burundi, who took up Mpox sequencing to understand the situation AND are willing to share pre-publication, shows the expanding tree, and evidence for several introductions not taking off. In progress virological.org/t/preliminar...

.@capublichealth.bsky.social announced a broad recall of Raw Farms LLC raw whole milk & cream on store shelves & has suspended distribution of additional products after multiple positive #H5N1 #birdflu tests. It advises avoiding other Raw Farm products for now. www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA...

The UN approves mpox vaccine for children - The World from PRX The World Health Organization has authorized the first mpox vaccine for children. This is huge news because the mpox outbreak in Africa has disproportionately affected children in countries like Congo...

I talked to the world news cast about the newly authorized #mpox vaccine LC16m8 which can be used in children >1 year old. 3 million doses have been donated to African countries dealing with outbreaks currently.
theworld.org/segments/202...

Fight or Flight — Facing the Marburg Outbreak in Rwanda | NEJM Having diagnosed two ICU patients with the first known cases of Marburg virus disease in Rwanda, a physician must prioritize limiting spread, despite pleas for transfer from the patients’ families.

Poignant frontline perspective of a #Rwandan physician responding to the recent #marburg outbreak. It is well worth a read. We are are two weeks into the 42 day countdown to declaring the outbreak over🤞🏾. These brave HCPs kept us safe. #medsky #idsky 🧪
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Couldn’t find a virology starter pack so here’s one to get the ball rolling. Repost/reply if you are a virologist so I can find and add you to the list!

go.bsky.app/SinqoJU