Katy Stephenson
@kstephensonmd.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Infectious diseases doc and scientist at Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. #IDsky
The US public health workers sent to staff an Ebola facility in Kenya described a shambolic and hurried effort to stand up an isolation unit, leaving behind state of the art facilities back home. Latest for @bloomberg.com : www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Chaotic Push to Train Staff for US Ebola Outbreak Facility Alarms Health Workers
The three-day session focused more on administrative tasks than spread prevention.
bloomberg.com
Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra for the Diagnosis of HIV-Associated Tuberculous Meningitis ✅ Just Accepted 🔗 https://bit.ly/4uZQ1wk
This is a travesty for many reasons, but one is the continued deterioration of scientific collaboration which will only harm the US in the end. There are no major advances in HIV medicine without South Africa. U.S. Plans to End AIDS Funding for South Africa www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/w...
U.S. Plans to End AIDS Funding for South Africa
nytimes.com
Every infectious disease clinician and epidemiologist knew this would happen. Because duh...and because #vaccineswork
Scores Fall Ill at Air Force Base After Hegseth Makes Flu Vaccine Optional
nytimes.com
The OMB and the Politicization of Science | New England Journal of Medicine www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
The OMB and the Politicization of Science | NEJM
The Editors highlight three aspects of OMB’s recently proposed rule changes as particularly striking: that decisions on research funding would be made by political appointees, that funding could be...
nejm.org
Even as the world is racing to contain the deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Trump administration is moving ahead with a plan that could decimate support for programs that detect and snuff out exactly such outbreaks. 🎁 🔗 www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/h...
New Plan Scales Back C.D.C.’s Work on Diseases Abroad
nytimes.com
One of the world's most tightly controlled experimental evolution projects is underway in DC, and I hope someone has had the foresight to collect a time series of algal samples. www.cnn.com/2026/06/16/p...
Reflecting Pool woes: Trump administration turns to hydrogen peroxide in latest bid to beat back algae | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump’s more than $14 million Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation was completed just over a week ago, with its more than 300,000 square feet refilled with 6.5 million gallons ...
cnn.com
Sources say USAID cuts damaged epidemic preparedness and hampered the DRC's Ebola response, a perfect storm fueling third-largest outbreak in history. www.statnews.com/2026/05/19/u...
Trump’s cuts to foreign aid are undermining the Ebola response, insiders say
Trump's cuts to foreign aid likely hampered the detection of the Ebola outbreak and the response to it.
statnews.com
We need to call this what it is: Trump is holding vulnerable people to ransom (“give us your minerals & your sensitive health data—or else we shut down your antiretroviral program & people with HIV will get sick or die”) I wrote about this in today’s @bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/393/...
Madhu Pai, MD, PhD@madhupai.bsky.social · 3mo agoWow "cash for data" is where global health and development is going Donald Trump reboots foreign aid with cash-for-data strategy www.ft.com/content/f5e1...
Important to read the seminal paper on the discovery of the Bundibugyo virus. It is a different species from Zaire Ebola virus, differing in its genome by up to 32%. The vaccines and monoclonal antibodies for Zaire virus are unlikely to be effective here. journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Newly Discovered Ebola Virus Associated with Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Uganda
Author Summary In this report we describe a newly discovered ebolavirus species which caused a large hemorrhagic fever outbreak in western Uganda. The virus is genetically distinct, differing by more ...
journals.plos.org
Confirmation on Friday that a rare Ebola virus was sickening people in the DRC shocked many scientists—mainly because of the outbreak’s sheer size. Since then, researchers and public health experts have been sprinting to make up for lost time. https://scim.ag/4ftcyx5
Scientists play catch-up to startling Ebola outbreak
Testing, sequencing, and clinical trial efforts spring to life as Bundibugyo virus spreads
scim.ag
Follow @helenbranswell.bsky.social for the best outbreak coverage btw
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦@helenbranswell.bsky.social · 3mo agoAs @statnews.com reported yesterday, several Americans in DRC had high-risk exposures to #Ebola in the latest outbreak. One has tested positive. These individuals are being flown to Germany for observation and treatment as needed. www.statnews.com/2026/05/18/c...
As someone who worked on Ebola and was once admitted to be ruled out for Ebola — I can say this is frightening for these Americans in DRC. They deserve support, compassion, and every effort from the to bring them home to receive advanced care if needed. www.statnews.com/2026/05/17/e...
In Ebola outbreak, a number of Americans in the Congo believed to have had exposure to suspected cases
A number of Americans who are in the Congo are believed to have had exposure to suspected cases in the country’s latest Ebola outbreak, sources have told STAT.
statnews.com
Under the IHR (2005), @drtedros.who.int, the Director General of WHO, having consulted the States Parties where the event is occurring, has determined that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in DRC & Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern bit.ly/3P4ZDac
I was interviewed about what's next for the CDC. My contribution was to remind the public that many staff still remain at the CDC, working hard, doing the often invisible work of public health. A special kudos to the courageous Dr. Robyn Fanfair, who leads the Division of HIV Prevention.
CDC Future: Should the Agency Be Rebuilt, Reformed, or Regionalized?
Explore the future of the CDC, including proposals to rebuild, reform, or regionalize the agency for better public health outcomes.
thebodypro.com
Version 3. I've extended the orange-shaded area to cover the full 45 days (WHO number) and indicated each week since the date post-onset of Case 1's symptoms (dpo). May 10th was a day when 2 people became symptomatic and also tested positive. I've used green
1. #CDC issued its 1st alert to health providers & public health depts on the cruise ship #hantavirus outbreak overnight. I got it at 12:45 am ET This should have happened days ago. CDC's communications are tightly controlled by HHS in this administration. This isn't the way CDC normally functions.
For my virology friends, simple but I liked it
Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀@mackayim.bsky.social · 3mo agoStatement from the International Hantavirus Society and members of the international hantavirus research and clinical community regarding Andes virus transmission and the current outbreak investigation zenodo.org/records/2007...
This story is not funny of course, but … it must be shared www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/u...
Scientist Irritated by Lab Colleague Accused in Poisoning Attempt
nytimes.com
Credited with saving 26 million lives, PEPFAR suffered big blows to its impact after the Trump administration’s abrupt stop and restart of its activities last year, according to the first tranche of data from the program since 2024. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/h...
New PEPFAR Data Show Worrying Declines in Testing and Treatment for H.I.V.
nytimes.com
The long-term effect of two and three doses of bivalent HPV vaccination against HPV infections: a comparison between two observational cohort studies ✅ Just Accepted 🔗 https://bit.ly/4c7zYq2
NASA just dropped this image of Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch looking back at us. The first woman to ever see our planet in its entirety. I’m not crying you’re crying 🥹🔭🧪 📸: NASA
Today, MSF is going public with something we've been fighting behind closed doors for months: Gilead will not sell us their new HIV drug, lenacapavir. The sticking point isn't even price, they just refuse to sell. Open letter linked + explainer 🧵1/ www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/gilea...
Gilead refuses to sell groundbreaking HIV prevention drug to MSF
Blocking humanitarian organizations from accessing a medical breakthrough puts vulnerable people across the world in danger.
doctorswithoutborders.org
I would greatly appreciate anyone amplifying this or contributing. The Alex Pretti nursing scholarship is being created. An endowed scholarship awarded to a student with financial need. Preference will be given to students with an interest in supporting America's veterans. Link below. Thank you.
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Help support academics and scholarships at the University of Minnesota.
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Vinay Prasad has been an a noxious influence on public health and drug regulation. Good riddance. UCSF should not take him back. He should wander in the wilderness forever. www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/h...
FDA’s controversial vaccine chief will exit agency next month | CNN
The US Food and Drug Administration’s head of vaccines and biologic medicines will leave the agency at the end of April, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Friday.
cnn.com
My friend has run a camp for kids affected by HIV/AIDS for 28 years and they’ve expanded to include children impacted by stigma against the LGBTQIA+ community. Please donate! www.mightycause.com/story/rock2026
Help Camp Starlight reach for the stars on Mightycause
More than ever, we need your help!
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