Dr Emma Hodcroft

@firefoxx66.bsky.social

Die Virenjägerin! 🏹🧬! Using programming & phylogenetics, I study & track viruses. Co-developer of Nextstrain, based at Swiss TPH & Uni Basel. Founder of CoVariants.org, co-founder of @pathoplexus.org I like 🐈 & 🛫 @firefoxx66@mstdn.science

Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can be equal to the effects of drinking alcohol for reaction time & attentiveness. For multiple nights now, many Basel residents won't have slept well in extreme heat - but may still be driving or operating machines. Be safe in this extreme heat everyone!

“By the way, they even said, OK, you invest a lot of money, and you know, even senior people come to us when Ebola comes. But you’re coming to prevent Ebola from coming to you to stop it here. It’s not because you want to save our lives. It’s not for us, it’s for you.”

In light of the ongoing situation with Ebola in the DRC, I'm sorry to have to remind you that evolutionary biology makes it abundantly clear that ignoring a catastrophic disease outbreak because it's there, not here, is a terrible, terrible idea.

Evolutionary consequences of delaying intervention for monkeypox

Since May, 2022, clusters of monkeypox infections have caused global concern. At present, this concern has been tempered by the fact that, even when uncontrolled, the number of infections is growing s...

thelancet.com

Birth rate discourse is like “It turns out if you give women more choices, they’re less likely to make ones that make their lives harder.” Which is really helpful in figuring out how we can improve society somewhat. But instead people are like wow giving women more choices was a mistake

The contrast between the number of media requests I got when rich people on a cruise were facing a deadly, but contained outbreak versus now that some of the poorest people in the world are facing a deadly and devastating epidemic is just so so stark and it just really annoys the hell out of me.

Teams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo & Uganda have now shared the first sequences from the current Ebola (Bundibugyo virus) outbreak using Pathoplexus, just days after cases were confirmed. Read more about the response to Bundibugyo virus here: pathoplexus.org/news/2026-05...

Pathoplexus | Ebola: Rapid response to the Bundibugyo virus outbreak in the DRC and Uganda

Pathoplexus is a new, open-source database dedicated to the efficient sharing of human viral pathogen genomic data, fostering global collaboration and public health response.

pathoplexus.org

Since launching support for the Andes virus species of hantavirus two days ago, we have already received submissions from four countries' sequencing teams. This is a testament to the rapid response of researchers, sharing real-time data. Read more in our news post: pathoplexus.org/news/2026-05...

Pathoplexus | Andes virus: supporting response to the current hantavirus outbreak

Pathoplexus is a new, open-source database dedicated to the efficient sharing of human viral pathogen genomic data, fostering global collaboration and public health response.

pathoplexus.org

Incredibly proud of the @pathoplexus.org team for getting this up so quickly. In an outbreak like this, it's critical to share data quickly & openly - so scientists can do public health analyses (like the @nextstrain.org builds) - while still protecting the right to publish on generated sequences.

Pathoplexus@pathoplexus.org · 3mo ago

1/ 🚀 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

4/ This is an ongoing outbreak of high interest, with few sequences available. In such a situation, Restricted-Use sequences are highly unlikely to be ‘background’ sequences. Please ensure you follow our Data Use Terms in preprints/publications & co-author with other submitters.

After 15 years of reporting on infectious disease outbreaks, what continues to fascinate me about them is the challenge of making high-stakes decisions under uncertainty. The hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius is a perfect example My story in @science.org is here (and a thread to come): 🧪 #IDsky

What to do with the passengers on the cruise ship hit by hantavirus?

Past studies of Andes virus offer scant evidence on transmission risks, and have sparked debate

science.org

Probably a good time for a few general caveats for those watching the developing story of the #hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius - especially the more anxious ones among you. (Long-time followers will know most of this by heart at this point): 🧪

I've had a lot of questions about Hantavirus recently - and some alarmism in some places. It's been a while since I wore this hat - but let's chat! 💬 Top Line: Am I worried? No, not really. I don't see evidence this is something that will spread widely. 1/N