1. A reminder that if you do believe that the Covid-19 pandemic occurred as a result of accidental release from a laboratory, then you're also tacitly acknowledging that said pandemic is an unprecedented event caused by an unprecedented pathogen.
Walking The Boyne Camino in the Republic of Ireland from Drogheda to Mellifont Abbey a couple of days ago.
“The biggest problem is that the conclusion doesn't match the data.” Allen said. “If you look strictly at the data, the conclusion is a small HEPA filter that's turned off doesn't work.” www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/can...
Can air purifiers prevent flu and COVID-19 in nursing homes? Only if they’re used properly
cidrap.umn.edu
I think it is now very possible that the outbreak in DRC will become the most deadly outbreak of Ebola thus far recorded. A nightmare is unfolding in DRC, and a deadly combination of the virus itself, armed conflict, aid cuts, and misinformation is fueling it. news.sky.com/story/ebola-...
Ebola outbreak in DR Congo 'fastest on record'
The ongoing outbreak is unlike most previous ones as the Bundibugyo virus responsible for it has no approved vaccines or treatments.
news.sky.com
'Our ability to smell is linked to brain health, and losing this sense is often one of the first signs of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease'. www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202...
6 dementia symptoms that can show up years before a diagnosis
Changes to sleep and walking can begin long before cognitive issues.
washingtonpost.com
Hiking from Portbradden to Portballintrae on the North Coast of Northern Ireland earlier today.
I was recently diagnosed with glaucoma, detected during a routine optometrist appointment. No symptoms. As I have said many times since 2020, attending routine medical screening is vital, regardless of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence. This early detection could well have saved my vision.
Anecdotal, of course, but I know so many people now whose personalities have changed in subtle but recognisable ways since 2020. I'm positive this is a multifactorial phenomena - trauma, deeply adversarial politics, high cost of living - but I'm sure another factor is infection.
Hiking Glenariff Valley, Northern Ireland, earlier today.
I was waiting for a train in a major train station in Belfast yesterday, and, to my surprise, I saw a woman walking out of the station wearing a black FFP2 respirator. Seeing people wearing masks here is rare now, but it's telling that my very first thought was, 'she's smart'.
Please consider donating to @nastassjacarnivora.bsky.social 's fundraiser so she can set up her Covid Conscious virtual counselling service. This service would be of immense value!
Carnivora@nastassjacarnivora.bsky.social · last mo.Yesterday, I was denied the governmental funding for my #covidcautious counselling service. Today I try to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. gofund.me/322cb8e03 I’m not giving up on my goal so easily - for myself but also for this community here. Sharing is caring 💗 More info in the comment
Thinking of my late father, George Browne, today. Dad passed away in 1999, aged only 59, but the older I get, the more I realise just how much he taught me. I'll see you on the hills again one day, Pop.
With the strong caveat that this is purely anecdotal, I have to say that over the past months it's been increasingly difficult to ignore the sheer number of mistakes people have been making. There's a kind of endemic sloppiness and I think part of it is cognitive dysfunction.
'Today, following the withdrawal of the US funding for disease surveillance and severe funding shortfalls, contact tracing is reaching fewer than *half* of the contacts'. This is a dire and very dangerous situation. Control is collapsing. *my emphasis. news.sky.com/story/ebola-...
Ebola: Largest ever outbreak of rare strain 'likely even greater' – and the 'first line of defence' has collapsed
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the DRC's Bundibugyo outbreak is the largest on record. Oxfam warns the number of cases is likely higher than official figures, as conta...
news.sky.com
Hiking the trail from Dunseverick to Portballintrae earlier today. Northern Ireland is a very beautiful place.
1. Remember that any attempt to paint Long Covid as psychogenic in nature deliberately and completely incorrectly biologically decouples SARS-CoV-2 infection from Long Covid. In essence, this rhetoric shifts the causative factor for LC from the virus to the patient's mind.
Remember that the existence of Long Covid and the fact that millions of people worldwide are suffering from it creates an extraordinary dissonance in the minds of a section of the population who wish to believe the falsity that Covid is no longer dangerous, and perhaps never was.
'...many patients with long COVID are already receiving care but are not being recognized as having the condition'. Exactly. I know so many people with Long Covid who don't know they have LC but they do know they developed a new condition after acute Covid-19. www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/lon...
Long COVID may affect 1 in 6 infected patients
cidrap.umn.edu
Belfast Lough and the Belfast Hills from the North Down Coastal Path earlier today.
I try to stay as professional as possible on here, but the recent spate of tweets I've seen on Twitter / X bemoaning that 'things just haven't been the same since 2020' or similar and then utterly ignoring the ongoing impact of SARS-CoV-2 infuriates me. Denial and ignorance in equal measure.
In my opinion, the dismantling of USAID by the current US administration is a large part of why the current Ebola outbreak was not detected earlier. There are likely people dead and dying right now who would otherwise not have been. Politics is the greatest biological risk.
As I'm sure most of you can imagine, I am often asked by friends, colleagues, and clients what I'm most concerned about in terms of global biological risk. Even with everything that's happening right now, my answer remains the same as it was in January 2023: H5N1.
Outstanding day at the British Pig and Poultry Fair 2026 with Ilimex, discussing spillover risks and long-range transmission of H5N1.
If there is one word that I have learned to abhor since 2020, it's the word, 'mild'.
Absolutely exemplary UK military medical operation to support the hantavirus response on Tristan da Cunha. Congratulations to all involved. www.gov.uk/government/n...
Military conducts daring parachute drop to deliver critical medical support to Tristan da Cunha
An Army specialist team has parachuted onto Tristan da Cunha to deliver critical medical support after it was confirmed that one British national on the island was suspected of contracting Hantavirus.
gov.uk
The patient is on Tristan da Cunha. We can only hope that no secondary transmission has occurred there. BBC News - Third British national has suspected hantavirus infection, government says - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Third British national has suspected hantavirus infection, government says
The patient is on the remote Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha, which was visited by the cruise ship in April.
bbc.co.uk
'Dutch broadcaster RTL said the woman was a stewardess at Dutch airline KLM, who had been in contact with a woman who died from a hantavirus infection in Johannesburg'. Extremely important to confirm whether the patient has hantavirus as soon as possible. www.rte.ie/news/2026/05...
Dutch woman in hospital in possible hantavirus case
A Dutch woman has been admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam after showing possible symptoms of a hantavirus infection, the Dutch health has ministry said.
rte.ie
Outstanding piece from @krutikakuppalli.bsky.social .
Krutika Kuppalli, MD FIDSA@krutikakuppalli.bsky.social · 3mo ago🚨 I wrote in @statnews.com on the #hantavirus cruise ship outbreak & highlight how quickly outbreaks can evolve. It’s a reminder of what the U.S. has risked by stepping back from @who.int With World Cup ahead, global surveillance and coordination are essential. www.statnews.com/2026/05/05/h...
I think about outbreak scenarios a lot, but I have to admit I've never thought about potential human-human transmission of hantavirus on a cruise ship until now. This is unprecedented, and no doubt an absolutely terrifying situation for those onboard. www.cnn.com/2026/05/05/a...
Human-to-human transmission suspected on board hantavirus cruise ship, WHO says | CNN
Some human-to-human transmission may have occurred on board the cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak that has left three people dead and several others ill, the World Health Organization (WHO) sai...
cnn.com
Hiking the Cooley Mountains earlier today - Sliabh Feá, from the summit of Barnavave.
