The #Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in NE DRC was likely underway for months before it was formally detected in mid-May. That's often the way with Ebola outbreaks, but the scale of the missed cases seems ... extraordinary. Terrific reporting by @kakape.bsky.social. www.science.org/content/arti...

EXCLUSIVE: Congo’s Ebola epidemic started at least 4 months before it was detected

A remote mining town gripped by fear saw hundreds of suspected cases before the government declared an outbreak, report says

science.org

Wow! A fourth class of transmissible cancers. CONTAGIOUS FISH MELANOMA, discovered in Lake Memphremagog (Vermont / Quebec) 🎣 🧬 😷 www.nature.com/articles/s41... @uvmvermont.bsky.social

Brown bullhead catfish melanoma represents a novel transmissible cancer - Nature

Whole-genome sequencing analysis of tumour and matched non-tumour host tissues of the brown bullhead catfish reveals a type of naturally occurring transmissible cancer.

nature.com

The Ebola outbreak in the DRC keeps growing at a shocking pace. We're already close to 2000 confirmed cases. Right now: 1926 confirmed cases (incl. 53 new cases in the last 24 hours) 702 of these have died insp.cd/sitrep-n058-...

This is absolutely heartbreaking. Please know that if you ever come into contact with a bat, you should seek medical attention. Even if there are no visible bite marks, you may have been exposed. Rabies is preventable with post exposure prophylaxis, and fatal without it @jackiantonovich.bsky.social

Canadian boy, 11, died from rabies after waking up with bat on his mouth | CNN

An 11-year-old Canadian boy has died from rabies after waking up with a bat on his nose and mouth.

cnn.com

Now out in Virus Evolution! CpG content is higher in carnivore-associated rabies virus clades than in bat-associated clades. Coauthors on here: @jdushoff.bsky.social @matt-arnold-bio.bsky.social @khampson.bsky.social

Clockor2 v1.12.1 adds date-randomisation tests 🎉 Date randomisation is a permutation test for temporal signal: does the observed relationship between sampling time and genetic divergence exceed what we would expect if dates were unrelated to sequences?

Led by @rowandurrant.bsky.social, we're trying to develop rules of thumb to estimate under-reporting from sequence data. Today rabies, tomorrow the world! With @khampson.bsky.social, @kirstynbrunker.bsky.social and others.

A simple method of estimating rabies outbreak sizes from phylogenies https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.01.729206v1

Very excited that this project is now out as a preprint! We found a very simple way of estimating rabies outbreak sizes from phylogenies: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Coauthors on bluesky: @jdushoff.bsky.social @khampson.bsky.social @kirstynbrunker.bsky.social

🧬 New resource alert! Pleased to share the release of RABV-gDB: a new platform for rabies virus genomic data, analysis, and sequence management developed @cvrbioinfo.bsky.social as part of the RAGE toolkit. 🌐 gdb-web-dev.cvr.gla.ac.uk 🔧 github.com/RAGE-toolkit #Rabies #Genomics #OneHealth

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

Amazing speed from the teams in Uganda and the DRC - impressive! Three genomes released so far - a few quick takes: 1️⃣ New genomes ~equidistant from 2007 and 2012 outbreaks. 2️⃣ Represents new spillover from reservoir. 3️⃣ Limited diversity, so too early to speculate on timing. Great work ⭐!

Kristian G. Andersen@kgandersen.bsky.social · 3mo ago

virological.org/t/initial-ge...

Really excited to be able to share our latest preprint, describing how during its evolution in cattle, H5N1 has got better at using a type of alternative receptor that's abundant in cows, but not found in humans and birds. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

🔔Exclusive: CDC just posted a tranche of genomic data from measles. 1,000 genomes have been sequenced, so researchers expect an answer to the elimination question within the month. "That we're even talking about this is nuts," said @kgandersen.bsky.social kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

US Scientists Sequence 1,000 Genomes From Measles, a Disease Long Eliminated With Vaccines - KFF Health News

This week, the CDC began to publish long-awaited data that will reveal the extent of measles’ comeback. While applauding the science, researchers say the Trump administration has done little to contai...

kffhealthnews.org

“By July, the rabies team will be down to just one person with the clinical expertise to advise state and local officials, and the pox virus team will have none.”

C.D.C. Pauses Testing for Rabies and Mpox

nytimes.com

What could possibly go wrong? #CDC pauses support for states on testing for #rabies & #mpox because it doesn't have the personnel to do the work. 2 pathogens you really don't want to mess with, rabies & mpox. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/h...

C.D.C. Pauses Testing for Rabies and Mpox

nytimes.com

Wondering what happens if a seal sneezes on a whale? We were! 🦭🤧🐋 We sequenced viromes from 16 species of marine mammals stranded in Scotland. Of >100 viruses detected, ~10% appeared in multiple species (one in both seals & cetaceans!), mirroring known interspecies interactions in Scottish waters.

It's deeply unimaginative to think the purpose of any endeavour is the destination. The journey is the fun part. The satisfaction of reaching the end depends on how you got there. If you think you can achieve the intellectual peak of what is possible in 2026 with yourself + AI, you're naive. 6/n

There's a common misconception that zoonotic viruses require significant adaptation to jump from animals to cause human epidemics. Not so 👇. Further, we see clear signs of 1977 flu experiencing cell passage, prior to epidemic. SARS-CoV-2? Business as usual. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Dynamics of natural selection preceding human viral epidemics and pandemics

Using a phylogenetic framework to characterize natural selection, we investigate the hypothesis that zoonotic viruses require adaptation prior to zoon…

sciencedirect.com

Study finds ChatGPT Health did not recommend a hospital visit when medically necessary in more than half of cases. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

‘Unbelievably dangerous’: experts sound alarm after ChatGPT Health fails to recognise medical emergencies

Study finds ChatGPT Health did not recommend a hospital visit when medically necessary in more than half of cases

theguardian.com

Can safely way this is the craziest and coolest study I have led. We chart the evolution of sheeppox virus, finding it in the Eurasian steppe ~3700 years ago, and also in a LOT of parchment from medieval Europe (made from a range of animals skins!) #aDNA

bioRxiv Genetics@biorxiv-genetic.bsky.social · 5mo ago

3,500 years of sheeppox virus evolution inferred from archaeological and codicological genomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.23.707469v1

The conch was blown at 5:00am. The 2026 Barkley Marathons begins in one hour. #BM100

Differences in codon usage between host-species-specific rabies virus clades are driven by UpA and purine content https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.12.699068v1

New preprint! We had a look at the codon and dinucleotide usage of rabies clades that circulate in specific host species, and found some interesting differences, particularly between carnivore- and bat-associated clades 👀 Coauthors on bluesky: @jdushoff.bsky.social @matt-arnold-bio.bsky.social

Differences in codon usage between host-species-specific rabies virus clades are driven by UpA and purine content

Viral genes sometimes use certain codons more than others due to their nucleotide content, translational efficiency, and selection pressure from the host immune system. The rabies virus (RABV) is a ne...

biorxiv.org

Check out our new print that combines dense sequencing and phylodynamics to uncover a bunch of 😎 things about an understudied virus. - Doesn't evolve for 10 months a year ✅ - Uses some mossies for maintenance, others for spread ✅ - Established in Northeast for ~300 years ✅

Ellie Bourgikos@ebourgikos.bsky.social · 7mo ago

🦟📄 New preprint! Our first large-scale phylodynamic study of Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) reveals how mosquito ecology shapes the evolution, persistence, and spread of this understudied arbovirus in North America. Read it here! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Ötzi and a 45,000-year-old Siberian were both infected with a cancer-causing strain of HPV. This is fascinating, and a reminder that we have a vaccine that *prevents cancer* and everyone eligible should get it.

Two ancient humans, including famed ‘Iceman,’ had cancer-causing virus

Findings from ancient DNA may shed light on HPV’s history in our species

science.org

BBC News - Drones detect deadly virus in Arctic whales' breath www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... (it is, in case you're wondering, cetacean morbillivirus)

Drones detect deadly virus in Arctic whales' breath

Whale breath collected by drones is giving clues to the health of wild humpbacks and other whales.

bbc.co.uk

This is a really cool project, I was lucky to have the opportunity to participate. news.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-res...

McMaster research team digitizes more than 100 years of Canadian infectious disease data

The new, publicly accessible database contains more than a million infectious disease incidence counts dating back to 1903.

news.mcmaster.ca

Amazing novel mpox recombination between epidemic clade 1 and 2 in returning traveller detected in UK: virological.org/t/inter-clad...

Inter-Clade Recombinant Mpox Virus Detected in England in a Traveller Recently Returned from Asia

Inter-Clade Recombinant Mpox Virus Detected in England in a Traveller Recently Returned from Asia Authors: Steven T. Pullan1, Isobel Everall1, Rebecca Doherty1, Lucy Crossman1, Emma Wise1, Hassan Ha...

virological.org

This is extremely rare and extremely awful. “The report said that organ donations are not routinely tested for rabies “because of its rarity in humans in the United States and the complexity of diagnostic testing.” @jackiantonovich.bsky.social

Kidney Recipient Dies After Transplant From Organ Donor Who Had Rabies

nytimes.com