Duncan MacCannell
@drm.bsky.social
Molecular #epidemiology & #publichealth. Pathogen #genomics, #microbiology, #emerginginfections, #AMR, (bio)tech #biosurveillance and #opendata. Personal account. Opinions/dad jokes are my own. 🦅 Low productivity public sector employee. 🔬🦠🧬🖥️💉🌻🍩🐸🥪
A somber milestone with the passing of Martha Lillard, and a chapter in American history that I hope we are never to repeat. www.cnn.com/2026/07/11/h...
Martha Lillard, last US polio patient using iron lung, dies at 78 in Oklahoma | CNN
Martha Lillard had just turned 5 when she was diagnosed with polio and depended on an iron lung to live. She died June 26 in Oklahoma, the last U.S. polio patient who used the machine, her sister said...
cnn.com
Eighty years ago today, CDC opened its doors as a small malaria control unit on Peachtree street in downtown Atlanta. www.cdc.gov/museum/histo...
cdc.gov
Excellent update from @pathoplexus.org this month. Pathoplexus has been central to data sharing during the ongoing Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak response, with ARTIC contributing developer time to Loculus, the platform behind it.
Pathoplexus@pathoplexus.org · last mo.1/ 🌍 Our June update is here! Two new pathogens added in response to active outbreaks, over 5,700 new sequences, and a growing community of labs from around the world. Here's what's new in #Pathoplexus 👇 Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2026-06... 📰
While it might be an epic movie, I’m not sure a 30 year old film reference hits quite right. Especially when people could be forgiven for associating it with another school of thought on pyrotechnic safety. makeagif.com/gif/the-rock...
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission@cpsc.gov · last mo.You've got to think about that famous scene from 'The Rock' (1996). Stanley Goodspeed is holding the "string of pearls" virus container that he's just removed from its housing. He looks Sean Connery dead in the eye and says, "The second you don't respect this, it kills you." That's the energy.
The old Endeavour display was awesome. This one looks amazing.
Los Angeles Times@latimes.com · last mo.California Science Center announces opening date to view Space Shuttle Endeavour in launch position
Great #asmmicrobe, everyone. Let’s do it again next year.
The Ebola outbreak spreading through the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda could become more devastating than the largest Ebola epidemic in history unless efforts to contain it improve, according to modeling released by the CDC.
Congo outbreak could rival the largest Ebola epidemic on record, CDC warns
In one worst-case scenario projected, more than 20,000 cases would occur within three months if only 1 in 5 infected people are identified and isolated within two days.
washingtonpost.com
New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) detected in U.S. livestock for the first time since 1966 – Zavala County, Texas, USA https://beaconbio.org/en/report/?reportid=e31f8751-bb80-4ae1-a65b-0faaeab58f8d&eventid=b5bde48c-0ffa-4fdb-9721-e6cda09cdb0d&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social
www.reuters.com/business/hea...
Flesh-eating screwworm confirmed in Texas calf as parasite crosses border from Mexico
New World screwworm, a parasitic fly that eats warm-blooded animals alive, has been found in a calf in Texas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday evening, exposing the nation's cattle...
reuters.com
This little fella shook my house. www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/...
Meteor explodes off Massachusetts coast, causing loud boom, meteorologist confirms
A meteor exploded off the coast of Massachusetts, causing a loud boom to be heard throughout the state Saturday afternoon, according to WBZ-TV Chief Meteorologist Eric Fisher.
cbsnews.com
Great to see the lasting impact of AMD construction funds on state and local public health laboratories. thebusinessjournal.com/madera-count...
Madera County unveils expanded public health lab, clinic upgrades
The Madera County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday celebrating the remodel and expansion of its newly remodeled lab facility. The ceremony highlighted the ...
thebusinessjournal.com
Setting new professional goals is always a great chance to reflect. This year, I’m continuing to evolve my previous objectives while channeling a lot of energy into leading the incredible AMD Mountain Region Bioinformatics Code Club! 💻🧬 Take a look at what we've been building:
GitHub - erinyoung/AMD-Mountain-Region-Bioinformatics-Code-Club: The AMD Mountain Region Bioinformatics Code Club is a 30-minute virtual session designed for public health professionals who want to st...
The AMD Mountain Region Bioinformatics Code Club is a 30-minute virtual session designed for public health professionals who want to strengthen their bioinformatics skills. Each session is hands-on...
github.com
Experts are getting chronic fatigue syndrome from having to explain that hantavirus is NOT Covid 2.0
virological.org/t/complete-s...
Complete sequence of Orthohantavirus andesense virus: Swiss resident 2026
Posted on behalf of the Swiss National Reference Center for Emerging Viral Infections, Geneva University Hospitals and the Institute of Medical Virology, University of Zurich (Partner Laboratory Natio...
virological.org
My ANDV #Hantavirus @nextstrain.org phylogenies now pull directly from @pathoplexus.org to incorporate all seqs I'll continue to improve them, & will keep them updated Change the Tip Labels in the left-hand menu. You can see links to all builds, plus tanglegrams at: nextstrain.org/groups/hodcr...
Fantastic to see expert-curated and transparently governed pathogen sequence databases move so quickly to meet this moment.
Pathoplexus@pathoplexus.org · 3mo ago1/ 🚀 Pathoplexus now supports the Andes variant of Hantavirus (ANDV). ANDV is the variant identified in the recent MV Hondius cases, & the Hantavirus variant previously identified as having occasional human-to-human transmission. pathoplexus.org/andv #hantavirus #hondius
Coincidentally, our paper on the first SNV genomes is out now in EID led by Grant Rickard and @ricardoriveroh.bsky.social More soon, including a massive synthesis effort on hantavirus and arenavirus surveillance that's been 3-years in the making... wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...
Genomic Analysis of Sin Nombre Virus Sequences, Northwestern United States, 2023
Sin Nombre Virus, Northwestern United States, 2023
wwwnc.cdc.gov
Nice summary of MTB surveillance in the United States and detection/response to large outbreaks. The US sees almost 10k domestic cases each year, and a number of large outbreaks or clusters. AMD Platform is the bioinformatic engine that drives this genomic surveillance. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
Large Tuberculosis Outbreaks — United States, 2017–2023
This report describes 50 large tuberculosis outbreaks in 23 states during 2017–2023.
cdc.gov
A lovely tribute to a giant in the field of influenza. She taught so much to so many of us. open.substack.com/pub/tomfried...
The Quiet Expert Who Stood Between Us and a Flu Pandemic
Most Americans haven’t heard of Nancy Cox, but we’ve all been touched by her work
open.substack.com
Lovely tribute. Nancy was an incredible public health scientist and mentor to so many in the field. She will be deeply missed. www.statnews.com/2026/04/25/n...
Nancy Cox, a CDC veteran and a stalwart in global flu research, dies at 77
Nancy Cox, a CDC veteran who for decades was a global leader in influenza research, has died at 77.
statnews.com
Sobering talk from Timothy Walsh from Oxford, UK on the rising antibacterial resistance even to the NOVEL agents For example we are already seeing growing reports of Cefiderocol resistance - and we have barely started using it. As usual we are being outrun by the bacteria #EscmidGlobal2026
They can pose a threat to human health — yeast infections are but one example. Scientists say not enough attention is paid to their ability to develop resistance to medications that treat them.
Why scientists are nervous about fungi
They can pose a threat to human health — yeast infections are but one example. Scientists say not enough attention is paid to their ability to develop resistance to medications that treat them.
n.pr
San Francisco public health officials have confirmed the city’s first case of clade I mpox in an unvaccinated adult who was in contact with someone who had traveled internationally.
San Francisco reports first case of more severe mpox strain
San Francisco public health officials have confirmed the city’s first case of clade I mpox in an unvaccinated adult who was in contact with someone who had traveled internationally.
bit.ly
ICYMI: New online! Mpox emergence, epidemiology, biology, clinical features and control
Mpox emergence, epidemiology, biology, clinical features and control
Nature Reviews Microbiology, Published online: 08 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41579-026-01305-yIn this Review, Ogoina et al. examine the emergence of mpox and its epidemiology, the viral life cycle, transmission dynamics, risk factors and clinical characteristics. They also explore current and future prevention and control strategies, including the therapeutic and vaccine landscape, as well as the urgent need for integrated surveillance, equitable access to countermeasures, and Africa-led research to address the ongoing multi-clade threat.
dlvr.it
