Carmen Lia Murall, PhD

How do mpox outbreaks start? Dead baby monkey provides important clue “Landmark” study fingers fire-footed rope squirrel as a reservoir of fatal disease

Nice coverage of our study of MPXV in Taï National Park by @kakape.bsky.social + @janeqiu.bsky.social. Great example of the value of long-term wildlife health monitoring for public health: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Preprint: www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...

Antigenic map of H5 influenza viruses spanning their evolutionary history. 3 clusters (surprisingly few!) w no cross immunity. 6 key aa identified. 2344b, 2321a, 2344h in different clusters. Big jump in antigenicity from 234 to 2344b important finding.
👉 www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...

CDC’s Pledge to the American People: 1. To be a diligent steward of the funds entrusted to it. 2. To provide an environment for intellectual and personal growth and integrity. 3. To base all public health decisions on the highest quality scientific data, openly and objectively derived. 4. To place the benefits to society above the benefits to the institution. 5. To treat all persons with dignity, honesty and respect. Dr. Walter R. Dowdle, PhD November 11, 1990 Joseph W. Mountin Lecture Photo credit: Dr. Steve Monroe PhD

If we’re making lists, I think that the five bullets in CDC’s Pledge to the American People are an excellent place to start.

I have been at the agency for almost 20 years, and have met very few people in public health service who don’t strive for and embody these ideals
www.cdc.gov/about/pledge...

The US Is Withdrawing From Global Health at a Dangerous Time Trump’s overhaul of the CDC has scientists worried about flu, measles and even Ebola.

As @angierasmussen.bsky.social told me: “There is never a good time to lay waste to essential public health professionals and scientists specializing in emerging viruses and responses to health emergencies, but this is the worst scenario I can possibly imagine.”
Gift link ⬇️
tinyurl.com/2ue7eyek

Come together, right now The chaos, conflicting information, firings, and hurtful rhetoric of the Trump administration’s approach to science over the past month are causing anxiety, grief, and concern for the scientific commu...

Come together, right now www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#mpox remains a public health emergency of international concern

The announcement follows the third meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee regarding the upsurge of mpox.

The Director-General concurred with the Committee’s advice.

More: bit.ly/4bgz4p3

With the tragic news of a measles-related death in Texas, it is important to remember that we also have a measles outbreak in Canada, with the vast majority of cases among unvaccinated individuals.

Ontario data below 👇

PEPFAR under review: what's at stake for PEPFAR's future The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) faces a pivotal moment, confronting one of its most challenging periods since its launch in 2003. The new policy priorities of the administra...

"By staying true to its mission and embracing necessary reforms, PEPFAR can...continue to be a beacon of hope in the fight against HIV/AIDS."

Comment—PEPFAR under review: what's at stake for PEPFAR's future tinyurl.com/28ahdmv8 #MedSky

Timing and molecular characterisation of the transmission to cattle of H5N1 influenza A virus genotype D1.1, clade 2.3.4.4b Jonathan E. Pekar, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK Thomas P. Peacock, The Pirbright Institute, Woking, UK, GU24 0NF; Department of Infectious Disease, Imper...

Our analysis of the second incursion of H5N1 viruses (genotype D1.1) into dairy cattle in the US is now posted to virological virological.org/t/timing-and...

A CDC vaccine committee meeting, the first of Kennedy's tenure at HHS, gets postponed An HHS spokesperson didn’t say when the meeting would be rescheduled.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) makes recommendations that determine access to vaccines in the US.

The ACIP meeting scheduled for next week is now delayed.

This is how RFK Jr will administratively destroy vaccination programs.
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Smart surveillance really coming into its own. Air, water, and surface sampling in bird markets w NGS can outperform traditional swab based approaches in detecting in a diversity of viruses, including avian influenza. Amazing work by @E_A_Karlsson + team
👉 www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-5...

Trump officials exerting unprecedented control over CDC scientific journal "The MMWR has lost its autonomy," one health official told CBS News.

“Efforts by Trump officials to control the publication have stalled the release of three studies about bird flu for weeks, as the virus continues spreading through wild birds, poultry farms and cows around the country.” www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-o...

Measles outbreak expands in West Texas around county with low vaccination rate | CNN A measles outbreak is growing in a rural area of West Texas where vaccination rates are well below the recommended level.

We need to be giving this more attention - measles outbreaks are rough on patients, taxing on response, and indicative of larger public health vulnerabilities.

Measles outbreak expands in West Texas around county with low vaccination rate | CNN

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...

First genome sequence from the Ugandan Ebolavirus outbreak with analysis: virological.org/t/990 and first filovirus genome submitted to Pathoplexus database: pathoplexus.org/seq/PP_0011C.... Great (and rapid) work from the National Health Laboratory, UVRI and partners.

CDC urges faster testing to find human bird flu cases The agency says labs should accelerate testing on patients hospitalized with the flu within 24 hours of their admission.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday urged labs nationwide to determine within 24 hours of admission whether people hospitalized with the flu have seasonal influenza or are infected with the bird flu that's behind an escalating outbreak in dairy cows and poultry”

Important Covid editorial @science.org by Maria Van Kerkhove
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🚀 We're hiring! Professor / Head of Department position at @lshtm.bsky.social

Strategic investment in innovative laboratory and informatic technologies is critical for both public health and national security. Read more about our work to build resilient, adaptable, and pathogen agnostic infectious disease surveillance across the US public health system www.cdc.gov/amd

Critical Illness in an Adolescent with Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Infection | NEJM Influenza A(H5N1) viruses are an emerging zoonotic threat and have spread widely throughout birds in North America. Recently, influenza A(H5N1) infection led to serious illness in a teenager in Canada.

www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Panels A, B and D from Figure 1 of the cited paper, showing time series and phase planes of stochastic disease models, along with their deterministic limits.

We published a fun, math-y analysis of epidemic "burnout" in #PNAS recently. It's stuff I've been thinking about for decades, but #ToddParsons and #DavidJDEarn made it happen. Also with @bbolker.bsky.social. Inspired to some extent by #JulietPulliam. www.pnas.org/eprint/VGKAK...

1st travel related case of clade 1b mpox detected in Canada.

(Note the large global outbreak in 2022 was clade 2 mpox).

Link: tinyurl.com/jcyff8eh #IDSky #MedSky

The preliminary sequence from the H5N1 human case in British Columbia has been posted and it is not good news. The virus potentially has a quasispecies at HA residue 226 (H3 numbering). This is bad news because we know that mutations at residue 226 can increase binding to human receptors. 1/