Can a COVID-19 vaccine help protect the brain? Using magnetoencephalography in nonhuman primates, a team including Drs. John Sanders, Jim Daunais, & Maria Blevins finds evidence that COVID-19 vaccination is neuroprotective. Vaccines (2026). doi.org/10.3390/vacc...

Dog rabies is entirely preventable, yet kills 60,000 people a year. Dr. Brinkley Bellotti on how facility-location algorithms & staggered vaccination campaigns can reach free-roaming dogs in Arequipa, Peru. wakeforestid.com/posts/2026-0...

Why Dog Rabies Persists—and What It Takes to Eliminate It – Wake Forest School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases

Despite being entirely preventable, dog rabies causes 60,000 human deaths annually. Research in Arequipa, Peru explores how facility location algorithms and staggered vaccination campaigns can…

wakeforestid.com

Part 2: With fentanyl reshaping opioid use, how do you actually get started on buprenorphine? Dr. Erin Barnes walks through the strategies clinicians use most—and why different approaches work for different people. wakeforestid.com/why-is-getti...

Why Is Getting on Buprenorphine So HARD These Days?! : Part 2 – Wake Forest School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases

A lot of people have been working on the fentanyl problem for a few years now. There are different strategies that can be taken and different ones work for different people. Here are some of the…

wakeforestid.com

You want to cut back on opioids. Methadone isn't for you, so you try buprenorphine—and you feel AWFUL. What gives? Dr. Erin Barnes explains why starting bup has gotten so hard in the fentanyl era. (Part 1) wakeforestid.com/why-is-getti...

Why Is Getting on Buprenorphine So HARD These Days?! : Part 1 – Wake Forest School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases

So let’s say you are sold on wanting to stop or even just cut back on your use of opioids. You want to get on medications to help. You don’t think methadone is a good fit for you so you try…

wakeforestid.com

Our own section chief, John Sander, in the news discussing Cyclospora cases in North Carolina www.wcnc.com/article/news...

Dog ticks as sentinels: a study with Michael DeWitt detects Rickettsia conorii subsp. israelensis & other tick-borne pathogens in dog ticks from Ghana's Upper East region—mapping zoonotic risk. Med Vet Entomol (2026). doi.org/10.1111/mve.... #idsky

Molecular identification of Rickettsia conorii subsp. israelensis and other tick‐borne pathogens in dog ticks from the Upper East region of Ghana

The dogs were infested with only Rhipicephalus sanguineus. First molecular identification of Rickettsia conorii subsp. israelensis in Ghana. The findings indicate a need for integrated tick control…

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Meet Dr. Jessi Wells—our new Infectious Diseases fellowship program director at Wake Forest! We sat down with her for a Q&A on program leadership and what makes our program special. wakeforestid.com/posts/2026-0...

Meet Dr. Wells – Wake Forest School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases

Announcing Dr. Jessi Wells as our new infectious diseases fellowship program director, with a Q&A on what makes Wake special.

wakeforestid.com

How should we define refractory septic shock? Dr. Ryan Maves joins an international SCCM/ESICM Delphi consensus setting clinical criteria for its deadliest stage—co-published in Crit Care Med & Intensive Care Medicine (2026).

Clinical Criteria for the Definition of Refractory Septic... : Critical Care Medicine

DESIGN: Review of literature, expert panel position statements, and Delphi rounds with an international expert group. SETTING: Consensus was defined as having at least 75% of panellists in agreement…

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Desperate times, good science: Dr. Ryan Maves & colleague distill lessons from REMAP-CAP—the adaptive platform trial that reshaped how we study community-acquired pneumonia, even amid crisis. Crit Care Med (2026). doi.org/10.1097/CCM....

Desperate Times and Good Science: Lessons From Randomized,... : Critical Care Medicine

An abstract is unavailable.

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What drives teen pregnancy in South Africa? Section members Michael DeWitt, Avinash Shetty & Candice McNeil help identify the key predictive factors to inform prevention. Am J Trop Med Hyg (2026). doi.org/10.4269/ajtm... #idsky

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Most sepsis deaths occur in low-resource settings. In Critical Care Clinics, Dr. Ryan Maves & colleague review the advances—and the stubborn challenges—of delivering lifesaving sepsis care where resources are scarce. (2026) doi.org/10.1016/j.cc... #idsky

Advances and Challenges in Sepsis Care in Low-Resource Settings

The dates displayed for an article provide information on when various publication milestones were reached at the journal that has published the article. Where applicable, activities on preceding…

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Drs. Luis Barroso & Julia Cook from the Section on Infectious Diseases present Most Influential Papers in Section on Infectious Diseases: A Biennial Update - a review of the landmark studies shaping ID practice over the past two years. DoxyPEP, Dalbavancin, Long Acting Injectables, and more!

Attention North Carolina Infectious Diseases folks, the North Carolina Infectious Diseases Society (ncidsociety.com ) is hosting their annual scientific meeting at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC, on Saturday March 14, 2026. Register here: www.piedmontahec.org/courses-and-... #idsky

About Us - Piedmont AHEC

Learn about the mission, vision, and values of Piedmont AHEC.

piedmontahec.org

🦠💉 Groundbreaking work by Dr. Wierzba & team on ETVAX, the first vaccine to protect children from deadly E. coli, reduced severe diarrhea by up to 68% in infants! Up to 42,000 young lives lost yearly. www.scientificamerican.com/article/firs...

First-of-its-kind vaccine protects children from deadly intestinal infections

ETVAX is the first vaccine that offers significant protection against pathogenic E. coli in children

scientificamerican.com

🎉 Congratulations to Dr. Thomas F. Wierzba and team on their new findings published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases! The phase 2b ETVAX trial shows promising protection against ETEC diarrhoea in children—a major step for global child health. 🌍💉

Throwback Thursday to the 2024 WFUSM Research Awards. Dr John Williamson was recognized for excellence as part of the research staff and the Project CONNECTS team composed was recognized for work on an Advocate-wide research program for STIs. buff.ly/UtlfsI2 #idsky

Announced 2024 Research Awards

CTSI Announcement

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New publication! Congrats to Michael DeWitt and former Pennell Fellow Seth Addo on their paper, “Occurrence of Tick‑Borne Pathogens in Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. From Domestic Dogs in Kumasi, Ghana.” 🔗 buff.ly/QG7rEwN #idsky #wfuresearch #onehealth #globalhealth.

Occurrence of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Rhipicephalus sanguineus Sensu Lato From Domestic Dogs in Kumasi, Ghana

Tick-borne pathogens, transmitted by ticks, infect humans and animals worldwide. The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, is a significant vector of a number of pathogens, including Ehrlichia canis, Rickettsia and Anaplasma species. In Ghana, there is limited information on the pathogens carried by Rh. sanguineus s.l. As such, Rh. sanguineus ticks taken from domestic dogs in Kumasi were screened for tick-borne pathogens, including Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia, Babesia, Theileria, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Hepatozoon species. A total of 204 ticks collected from 56 infested dogs were morphologically identified as Rh. sanguineus s.l. From the 88 pools screened, 36 (40.9%) were positive for pathogen DNA. The pathogens identified were Rickettsia africae (5 pools), Ehrlichia canis (10 pools) and uncultured Anaplasma sp. (21 pools) with maximum likelihood estimates as 2.48% (95% CI: 0.93, 5.38%), 5.22% (95% CI: 2.69, 9.15%) and 11.20% (95% CI: 7.32, 16.29%), respectively. There was no association between the detection of a pathogen and the tick sex or dog breed, age or sex. This study provides important baseline data on the circulation of tick-borne pathogens in Rh. sanguineus s.l. ticks in Kumasi, with implications for both veterinary and human health. The presence of uncultured Anaplasma sp. suggests a wider diversity of tick-borne bacteria with unknown pathogenicity. There is a need for integrated tick control, improved diagnosis and additional epidemiological studies to mitigate the impact of tick-borne diseases in Ghana.

doi.org

Next week's ID Grand Rounds: Navigating the Noise: How to Combat Misinformation 📅 February 13, 2026 | 12:00 PM 📍 ID Conference Room 🎤 Speaker: Elisabeth Adkins Marnik, PhD (MDI Biological Laboratory) 🎙️ Moderator: M. Elle Saine, MD, PhD (UPenn) buff.ly/gn4PRwq #episky #idsky

Throw back to Dr Erin Barnes blog series on the interaction between infectious diseases and addiction. Check out her multi-part blog series on the challenges of this important work: wakeforestid.com/groups/addic...

Addiction Infectious Diseases – Wake Forest School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases

Infectious Disease Research & Epidemiology | Wake Forest School of Medicine

wakeforestid.com

Congratulations to multiple members of the Section on their latest publication titled "Trusted Sources of COVID-19 Vaccine Information by County Characteristics in North Carolina", led by medical student, Bryson Staley. buff.ly/1LIFQcD #idsky #wfu #wfuresearch

Did you know that worldwide, 99% of human rabies cases are from rabid dogs? In her latest blog post, Dr Brinkley Bellotti discusses rabies persistence in dog populations and control strategies. Check it out: wakeforestid.com/posts/2026-0... #idsky #wfu #wfuresearch

Why Dog Rabies Persists—and What It Takes to Eliminate It – Wake Forest School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases

Despite being entirely preventable, dog rabies causes 60,000 human deaths annually. Research in Arequipa, Peru explores how facility location algorithms and staggered vaccination campaigns can…

wakeforestid.com

Reminder! Tune in for a special infectious diseases case conference from Dr Rana Hajjeh titled "Infectious diseases and Public Health- A global perspective with focus on the Middle East " this Friday, 1/30 @ noon wakeforestid.com#infectious-d... #idsky #wfu

Infectious Disease Research – Wake Forest School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases

The Wake Forest School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases integrates clinical excellence, epidemiology, and data‑driven modeling to address emerging and endemic infectious threats.

wakeforestid.com

Did you know that Guilford County, NC serves as a Combating Antimicrobial Resistant Gonorrhea and Other STIs (CARGOS) site and is supported by the Section on Infectious Diseases? Check out the resources available to the community for patient education and response: ncsurrg.com/about #idsky #wfu

Tune in for a special infectious diseases case conference from Dr Rana Hajjeh titled "Infectious diseases and Public Health- A global perspective with focus on the Middle East " this Friday, 1/30 @ noon buff.ly/qRk6h7E #idsky #wfu

Infectious Disease Research – Wake Forest School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases

The Wake Forest School of Medicine Section on Infectious Diseases integrates clinical excellence, epidemiology, and data‑driven modeling to address emerging and endemic infectious threats.

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Congratulation to Dr Lewis McCurdy and colleagues on their latest publication titled "Donor-derived blastomycosis" in the American Journal of Transplantation doi.org/10.1016/j.aj... #idsky #wfu #wfuresearch

Attention North Carolina Infectious Diseases folks, the North Carolina Infectious Diseases Society (ncidsociety.com ) is hosting their annual scientific meeting at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC, on Saturday March 14, 2026. Register here: www.piedmontahec.org/courses-and-... #idsky

About Us - Piedmont AHEC

Learn about the mission, vision, and values of Piedmont AHEC.

piedmontahec.org

Congratulation to Dr Ryan Maves and colleagues on their latest publication titled "Necrotizing soft-tissue infections survival guide in adult patients: A position statement by the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery" buff.ly/K9Vm610 #idsky #wfu #wfuresearch

Necrotizing soft-tissue infections survival guide in adult patients: A position statement by the Global Alliance for Infections in Surgery - PubMed

Necrotizing soft-tissue infections (NSTIs) are acute, rapidly progressive infections of soft tissues, often associated with signs of severe systemic toxicity and progressive multi-organ failure. This…

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Publication Alert: Congratulations to Dr Brinkley Bellotti and colleagues on their recent work titled "Cave dogs around major urban areas of Arequipa, Peru, threaten rabies elimination program" doi.org/10.3389/fvet... #idsky #wfu #wfuresearch #onehealth

Frontiers | Cave dogs around major urban areas of Arequipa, Peru, threaten rabies elimination program

BackgroundIn the city of Arequipa, Peru, the government has implemented control measures against dog rabies virus since the detection of its reintroduction i...

doi.org

Congratulations to Dr Ryan Maves and colleagues on their latest publication titled "Healthcare Workers Have More Frequent and Less Severe Influenza-Like Illness Than Non-healthcare Workers: Findings From the PAIVED Study " Read more here: doi.org/10.1093/ofid... #idsky #wfu #wfuresearch

Validate User

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Throwback Thursday to Dr Charles de Comarmond presenting his work titled "Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Clinical Curtailments on Urine Microbial Diversity During 2019 Pandemic" at IDWeek2025