This Week in Virology

TWiV explains research which shows that Per os infectivity factors are essential for bracovirus infection and wasp parasitism, and that periodic shifts in viral load increase risk of Hendra virus spillover from Pteropus bats.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of TWiV!
Links for this episode
Support science education at MicrobeTV
Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email)
Susumu Tonegawa Dies (Wikipedia)
Measles Cases Hit New Record in U.S., as Vaccination Rates Wane (NYTimes)
Polydnaviruses on  on TWiVs 372 and 443
Per os infectivity factors essential for bracovirus infection and wasp parasitism (PNAS)
Periodic shifts in viral load increase risk of Hendra virus spillover from Pteropus bats (Sci Adv)
Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Picks of the Week
Kathy – A) Sign up for ScienceAdviser daily newsletter, free B) Goats DO get brain damage from head butting (Original bioRxiv preprint)
Rich – This Star Just Ate a Planet, and It's Not Done Yet
Alan – Schisto and Ladders educational board game story, and the original publication on it.
Vincent – How female dolphins know which males to avoid (Original article)
Listener Pick
David – What's Under Your Feet in New York City?
Ken – The usefulness of useless knowledge
Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees
Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv
Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

In his weekly clinical update, Daniel Griffin and Vincent Racaniello explore the source/not source of the national cyclospora outbreak, trust in the FDA to correctly identify the source, new screwworm, Legionnaires and cyclosporasis cases, the Ebola outbreak in the Congo and development of a novel vaccine and antiviral before Dr. Griffin deep dives into the measles outbreak including the new Pennsylvania dashboard, recent statistics RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, Johns Hopkins measles tracker, difference between high and standard dose influenza vaccines, how to access and pay for Paxlovid, where to go for answers about long COVID-19, and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of TWiV!
Links for this episode
How helpful is not up to date? CDC: cyclosporiasis
Taylor Farms pulls Mexican Lettuce on Cyclospora Cases (Bloomberg)
FDA retracts positive cyclospora test on Taylor Farms lettuce (NPR: WHYY)
False-positive lab sample DOES NOT change the basis for FDA's ongoing outbreak investigation (X)
FDA retracts test result but still links Taylor Farms lettuce to cyclosporiasis (Washington Post)
Infectious Disease Outbreaks (Michigan: Health & Human Services)
Cyclospora Infection (Cyclosporiasis) (NYC Health)
Legionnaires' Disease (NYC Health)
Chapter 8: Cooling Towers (NYC Health)
You can verify ifa person is licensed on the New York State Office of the Professions website: (NSPE-NY)
Board for global EHS Credentialing (American Board of Industrial Hygiene)
Water treatment vendor (Association of Water Technologies)
Cooling Towers: Information for Owners and Operators (NYC Health)
Dashboard SCREWWORM.Gov (USDA: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service)
CDC Activates Emergency Operations Center for New World Screwworm Response (CDC Newroom)
Ebola dashboard (ebola.fyi)
EBOLA:The Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2026(WHO)
Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak Democratic Republic of the Congo(WHO: Democratic Republic of Congo)
Ebola Outbreak: Current Situation (CDC:Ebola)
Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan)
Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)
Big outbreak, bright lights…Measles Dashboard (South Carolina Department of Public Health)
Utah measles outbreak response (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)
UtahMeasles Dashboard (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)
Measles (VDH: Virginia Department of Health)
Tracking Measles Cases in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins)
HAP's Latest News Pa. Launches New Measles Dashboard (Hospital + HealthSystem Association of Pennsylvania)
Weekly measles and rubella monitoring (Government of Canada)
Measles (WHO)
Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health)
Measles(CDC Measles (Rubeola))
Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC)
Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC)
Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
Measles(CDC: Measles Rubeola)
Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)
Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts (ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)
Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)
Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
USrespiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
Flu vaccine recommendations: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee March 12, 2026 Meeting Announcement (FDA)
WHO updates all 3 viral strains to be included in fall flu shots (CIDRAP)
FDA vaccine advisers recommend adding subclade K to fall shots (CIDRAP)
Influenza vaccine effectiveness against outpatient acute respiratory illness withlaboratory-confirmed influenza, United States, 2024–25 season (CID)
Effect of high-dose versus standard-dose influenza vaccines on hospitalisation outcomes and mortality in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis (LANCET: Healthy Longevity)
Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView)
OPTION 2: XOFLUZA $50 Cash Pay Option (xofluza)
RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
USrespiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)
Vaccines for Adults (CDC: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV))
Economic Analysis of Protein Subunit and mRNA RSV Vaccination in Adults aged 50-59 Years (CDC: ACIP)
Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
COVID-19 deaths (CDC)
Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel (CDC: Respiratory Illnesses)
COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)
COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)
SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)
Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled First-in-Human Trial of a First-in-Class AI-Designed Monoclonal Antibody (GB-0669) Against the Conserved SARS-CoV-2 Spike S2 Stem Helix (JID)
Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
EUAfor the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)
Infusion center (Prime Fusions)
CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
Help your eligible patients access PAXLOVID with the PAXCESS Patient Support Program (Pfizer Pro)
UnderstandingCoverageOptions (PAXCESS)
Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)
Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
Anticoagulationguidelines (hematology.org)
Daniel Griffin's evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID)
Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center)
The answers: Long COVID
Reaching out to US house representative
Letters read on TWiV 1342
Dr. Griffin's COVID treatment summary (pdf)
Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees
Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv
Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV explains research that reveals dual activity of a phage-encoded lysin that modulates infection dynamics in a mycobacteriophage, and refutes a proposed link between the SARS-CoV-2 furin cleavage site and mouse-adapted MERS-coronavirus MA30.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Kathy Spindler, Angela Mingarelli, and Jolene Ramsey
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of TWiV!
Links for this episode
Support science education at MicrobeTV
Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email)
Dual activity of phage-encoded lysin (mBio)
Furin cleavage site and SARS-CoV-2 origins (PNAS)
Theories on SARS-CoV-2 origins (CR Biol)
Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Picks of the Week
Angela – Pigeons. An underappreciated animal. Superparamagnetic macrophages, cancer detectors, mirror mark test
Kathy – Wednesday's APOD and Graphene
Jolene – Microbial Puppet Masters science exhibit, 3D-models linked in their paper
Vincent – Beyond Inheritance by Roxanne Khamsi (TWiEVO 126)
Listener Pick
Lana – The Episodic Table of Elements
Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees
Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv
Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

In his weekly clinical update, Daniel Griffin and Vincent Racaniello debate if Senator Mitch McConnell's recent hospitalization is due to post-polio syndrome or just old age, how air quality from Maine to Chicago has been affected by the Ontario wild fires, new screwworm, Legionnaires and cyclosporasis cases, the Ebola outbreak in the Congo and development of a novel vaccine and antiviral, before Dr. Griffin deep dives into the measles outbreak, recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, Johns Hopkins measles tracker, how to access and pay for Paxlovid, where to go for answers about long COVID-19, long term effects of COVID-19 immune dysfunction including ocular and gut and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of TWiV!
Links for this episode
Statement From Senator Mitch McConnell (Mitch McConnell US Senator for Kentucky)
Polio(NY Department of Health: Polio)
Global polio vaccination (CDC)
For Some Survivors, Polio Casts a Long Shadow (GAVI)
Former Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hospitalized (NPR)
Hundreds of thousands of Americans live with the long-term effects of polio (CIDRAP)
Child Care, Schools, Camps: Outdoor Air Quality Health Recommendations Based on Air Quality Index (NY City of Health: air quality)
Current Air Quality (AirNow)
Domestically Acquired Cyclosporiasis Cases in Multiple U.S. States, 2026 (CDC: Health Alert Network)
How helpful is not up to date? CDC: cyclosporiasis
Top 10 Cyclospora questions (Katelyn Jetelina: your local epidemiologist)
Cyclospora, wildfire smoke, and another Legionella outbreak (Marisa Donnelly: your local epidemiologist in New York)
Cyclospora keeps climbing, a bad West Nile season, truck spraying, and good news (Katelyn Jetelina and Marisa Donnelly: your local epidemiologists)
Infectious Disease Outbreaks (Michigan: Health & Human Services)
Cyclospora cases up dramatically in New York (Outbreak News Today)
Cyclospora Infection (Cyclosporiasis) (NYC Health)
Legionnaires' Disease (NYC Health)
New York officials find Legionella in 76 cooling towers as cases hit 63 (CIDRAP)
Dashboard SCREWWORM.Gov (USDA: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service)
CDC Activates Emergency Operations Center for New World Screwworm Response (CDC Newroom)
Ebola dashboard (ebola.fyi)
EBOLA:The Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2026 (WHO)
Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak Democratic Republic of the Congo (WHO: Democratic Republic of Congo)
Ebola Outbreak: Current Situation (CDC:Ebola)
Why the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history is becoming more challenging (AP News)
Oxford begins first human trial of Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine (Reuters)
Gilead launches Ebola antiviral trial in DR Congo as cases near 2,000 (CIDRAP)
Information for Travelers Returning from Ebola-Affected Areas (CDC: Ebola)
Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan)
Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)
Big outbreak, bright lights…Measles Dashboard (South Carolina Department of Public Health)
Utah measles outbreak response (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)
UtahMeasles Dashboard (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)
Measles (VDH: Virginia Department of Health)
Tracking Measles Cases in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins)
Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg)
Weekly measles and rubella monitoring (Government of Canada)
Measles (WHO)
Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health)
Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC)
Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC)
Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)
Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts (ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)
Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)
Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
Flu vaccine recommendations: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee March 12, 2026 Meeting Announcement (FDA)
WHO updates all 3 viral strains to be included in fall flu shots (CIDRAP)
FDA vaccine advisers recommend adding subclade K to fall shots (CIDRAP)
Weekly surveillance report: cliff notes (CDC FluView)
OPTION 2: XOFLUZA $50 Cash Pay Option(xofluza)
RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
USrespiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)
Vaccines for Adults (CDC: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV))
Economic Analysis of Protein Subunit and mRNA RSV Vaccination in Adults aged 50-59 Years (CDC: ACIP)
Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
COVID-19 deaths (CDC)
Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel (CDC: Respiratory Illnesses)
COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)
COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)
SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)
Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
EUAfor the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)
Infusion center (Prime Fusions)
CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
Help your eligible patients access PAXLOVID with the PAXCESS Patient Support Program (Pfizer Pro)
Understanding Coverage Options (PAXCESS)
Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)
Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
Anticoagulationguidelines (hematology.org)
Daniel Griffin's evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID)
Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center)
The answers: Long COVID
Long-term ocular symptoms following COVID-19 linked to immune dysregulation, dysautonomia and peripheral neuropathy (Nature Communications)
Vagal cholinergic denervationof the gastric mucosa in Long-COVID-19: in vivo evidence of structural autonomic dysfunction (International Journal of Infectious Diseases)
Reaching out to US house representative
Letters read on TWiV 1340
Dr. Griffin's COVID treatment summary (pdf)
Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees
Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv
Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Tom Ksiazek, a world-renowned virus expert with 40 years of experience on the front lines of some of the worst outbreaks the world has ever seen, joins TWiV to discuss his career, ebolaviruses in general, and the current outbreak of Bundibugyo ebolavirus in Africa.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker
Guest: Tom Ksiazek
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of TWiV!
Links for this episode
Support science education at MicrobeTV
Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email)
Fred Murphy passes (pdf)
CJ Peters passes (pdf)
Tom Ksiazek on TWiV 583
Letters read on TWiV 1339
Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Picks of the Week
Brianne – APoD July 7: Dragons of Ara
Rich – The Iconic Bass Riff That NOBODY Can Play; Riff (Wiki) see "Riff-Driven"
Vincent – The song that made Carlos Santana a rock legend
Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees
Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv
Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.