virology blog
About viruses and viral disease
TWiV reviews an outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Equatorial Guinea, wild poliovirus type 3 shedding from a laboratory in the Netherlands, and white-tailed deer as a reservoir for previous SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Rich Condit
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Download TWiV 985 (66 MB .mp3, 109 min)
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Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
In his weekly clinical update Dr. Griffin discusses the political polarization of COVID-19 treatments among physicians and laypeople in the United States, seven alternatives to evidence-based medicine, Malawi’s cholera death toll crosses 1,300 in its deadliest outbreak on record, impact of coronavirus infections on pediatric patients at a tertiary pediatric hospital, maternal mRNA COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and delta or omicron infection or hospital admission in infants, yes masks reduce the risk of spreading infection, despite a review saying they don’t, COVID-19 and airborne transmission: science rejected, lives lost. can society do better, what were the historical reasons for the resistance to recognizing airborne transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic, a randomized trial comparing Omicron-containing boosters with the original COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273, SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies after bivalent vs. monovalent booster, the impacts of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose separation and targeting on the COVID-19 epidemic in England, intra-host evolution provides for the continuous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, real-world use of Nirmatrelvir–Ritonavir in outpatients with COVID-19 during the era of Omicron variants including BA.4 and BA.5 in Colorado, viral burden rebound in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 receiving oral antivirals in Hong Kong, and guidance on the use of convalescent plasma to treat immunocompromised patients with COVID-19.
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Download TWiV 984 (26 MB .mp3, 43 min)
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Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
Daniela joins TWiV to discuss her career and her research on T cells, their role in infection with SARS-CoV-2, T cell epitopes and why a variant that evades T cell immunity is not likely to emerge.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Brianne Barker
Guest: Daniela Weiskopf
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Download TWiV 975 (58 MB .mp3, 98 min)
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Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees
Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
Michael Letko joins TWiV to discuss his research on understanding cell receptors required for sarbecovirus entry, including an ACE2-dependent isolate from Russian bats that is resistant to vaccine-induced antibodies.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker
Guest: Michael Letko
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Download TWiV 954 (63 MB .mp3, 104 min)
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Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
In his weekly clinical update Dr. Griffin discusses high demand for Amoxicillin causing shortages amid child RSV surge, epidemiologic and clinical features of children and adolescents aged <18 years with monkeypox, low risk of SARS-Cov-2 transmission by fomites, nucleocapsid antigenemia is a marker of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, impact of community masking on COVID-19, protection against Omicron from vaccination and previous infection in a prison system, Nirmatrelvir and the risk of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, Bebtelovimab for high-risk outpatients with early COVID-19 in a large US health system, imprinted SARS-CoV-2 humoral immunity induces convergent Omicron RBD evolution, can SARS-CoV-2 trigger new onset of autoimmune disease in adults? A case-based review, and retrospectively modeling the effects of increased global vaccine sharing on the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Download TWiV 953 (33 MB .mp3, 55 min)
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Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv
Infectious Disease physician Jake Scott joins TWiV to provide a west coast clinical perspective on the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to the impact of vaccines, antivirals, variants of concern and mortality.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Kathy Spindler
Guest: Jake Scott
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Download TWiV 952 (63 MB .mp3, 104 min)
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Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv