This Week in Virology

TWiV 1130: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

July 13, 2024

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses H5N1 influenza in the bird and cow communities of Colorado and Michigan and dengue in New York and the US before reviewing the recent statistics on SARS-CoV-2 infection, the absence of association with proton pump inhibitors and COVID-19 severity in children, where to find PEMGARDA, the effectiveness of molnupiravir and dexamethasone, convalescent plasma, what to do when healthcare workers succumb to SARS-CoV-2 infection, a resource of long COVID answers, how the WHO and CDC define long COVID and how it compares to ME/CSF.

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H5N1: birds and cows oh, my…..Michigan and Colorado (CIDRAP)
Flu pandemic for the Colorado chicken (Colorado Sun) 3:15
It’s a disaster: Avian flu in Weld county (Colorado.gov) 4:10
More 9.7 million dengue cases in US this year: CDC issues warning (Patch.com) 4:30
Long Island has DENGUE! (Long Island News12) 5:00
COVID-19 national trend (CDC) 7:02
COVID-19 deaths (CDC)
Association between proton pump inhibitors and COVID-19 susceptibility or severity in children? (Journal of Pediatrics) 8:57
Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
Unable to access pemgarda, gotta call Daniel (microbeTV)
CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
Early phase of SARs-CoV-2 infection (COVID.gov)
NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
What do when your heathcare provider is infected with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC)
Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID)
Benefits of dexamethasone, reversal of monocyte dysfunction for severe COVID-19 (Cell)
Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)
Long COVID: the ANSWERS! (longcovidtheanswers.com) 12:23
The FACTS: post COVID-19=long COVID? (WHO)
The BASICS of long COVID-19 (CDC)
Beyond Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Redefining an Illness (CDC)
Contribute to our Floating Doctors fundraiser 30:34
Letters read on TWiV 1130 31:05
Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf)
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

TWiV 1129: You never forget the first time you flu

July 7, 2024

TWiV reviews measles in Kenya, a trial for a intranasal COVID vaccine, dengue in the Florida Keys and in Central/South America, Spain connecting government with scientists, T cell activation and viral RNA fragments persist for up to 2 years after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and durable cross-reactive and protective antibodies against avian N2 neuraminidases elicited by A(H2N2) and A(H3N2) influenza pandemics.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Alan Dove

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Links for this episode

MicrobeTV Discord Server
Measles in Kenya (WHO) 2:29
Intranasal COVID vaccine trial (NIH) 3:49
Dengue in Florida Keys (Florida Health) 6:00
Dengue rising in Central/South America (NPR) 7:40
Spain to connect scientists with government (Science) 8:36
Persistence of T cells and viral RNA after SARS-CoV-2 infection (Sci Transl Med) 11:29
Influenza pandemics induce cross-reactive antibodies against avian N2 (Nat Comm) 36:41
Letters read on TWiV 1129 1:07:29
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:37:59

Alan – The first few minutes of this video by Roger Barnes
Vincent – Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story

Listener Picks

Fernando – A City on Mars

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1128: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

July 6, 2024

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses the fourth US case of H5N1 human infection and reminds the audience of the definition of “pasteurization” before reviewing the recent statistics on SARS-CoV-2 infection, where to find PEMGARDA, the effectiveness of molnupiravir and dexamethasone, convalescent plasma, what to do when healthcare workers succumb to SARS-CoV-2 infection, how an EEG can be used to look for signatures of cognitive decline after SARS-CoV-2 infection and what we observed 2 years following SARS-CoV-2 infection for tissue-resident T cell and viral RNA persistence.

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Download TWiV 1126 (27 MB .mp3, 38 min)
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Links for this episode

Fourth case human infection associated with an ongoing multistate outbreak of A(H5N1) (CDC) 2:22
Human H5N1 in Colorado and the definition of pasteurization (CIDRAP) 4:21
Is “raw” milk more risky than pasteurized (Annenberg Public Policy Center) 4:35
COVID-19 national trend (CDC) 7:42
COVID-19 deaths (CDC)
Winter, spring, summer and fall COVID-19 surges? (CDC) 8:56
Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda) 14:31
Unable to access Pemgarda, gotta call Daniel (microbeTV) 14:52
CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
Early phase of SARs-CoV-2 infection (COVID.gov)
NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV) 15:55
Molunpiravir works: reduces hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 and all-cause mortality (CID) 16:10
Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
What do when your heathcare provider is infected with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC)
Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
Steroids,dexamethasone at the right time (OFID)
Benefits of dexamethasone, reversal of monocyte dysfunction for severe COVID-19 (Cell) 19:10
Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)
EEG signatures for cognitive decline after SARS-CoV-2 infection (BMC Medicine) 22:42
Tissue resident T-cells and viral RNA 2 years after SARS-CoV-2 infection (Science Translational Medicine) 25:02
Contribute to our Floating Doctors fundraiser 29:20
Letters read on TWiV 1128 29:40
Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf)
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

TWiV 1127: Giving prions the (zinc) finger

June 30, 2024

TWiV discusses secret anti-vax campaign run by Pentagon to undermine China during pandemic, NY governor’s subways mask ban proposal, Colorado bat facility sparks outbreak fears, House budget billls suggest ban on gain of function research, evolution of STAT2 resistance to flavivirus NS5, and brainwide silencing of prion protein by AAV-mediated delivery of an epigenetic editor.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Alan Dove

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Links for this episode

MicrobeTV Discord Server
Pentagon anti-vac campaign to undermine China (Reuters) 3:00
NY governor subway mask ban (AP News) 9:45
Colorado bat facility sparks outbreak fears (Science) 12:51
House NIH budget bans gain of function research (Science) 18:53
Evolution of STAT2 resistance to flavivirus NS5 (Nat Commun) 26:34
Brainwide silencing of prion protein by AAV delivered epigenetic editor (Science) 45:03
Letters read on TWiV 1127 1:11:31
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:39:48

Dickson – Mars Odyssey Orbiter is about to make its 100,000th orbit
Alan – Local animal shelters and “kitten season.”
Vincent – Supreme Court allows cities to ban homeless people sleeping outside, even when shelter space is lacking

Listener Picks

Blog design – Trump vows to defund schools requiring vaccines for students
Jon – Detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza in mammals

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1126: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

June 29, 2024

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses RSV vaccination recommendations and revisions to guidelines before reviewing the recent statistics on SARS-CoV-2 infection, data suggesting that individuals with high HLA-DQA2 expression (MHC class II) are better at preventing the onset of a sustained viral infection, how moderate coffee intake can reduce risk of COVID-19 severity but cannabis use resulted in more severe disease but reduced risk of mortality, where to find PEMGARDA, if statin use prevented severe COVID-19, the benefit of administering nirmatrelvir and ritonavir after 5 days, convalescent plasma, what do when healthcare workers succumb to SARS-CoV-2 infection, if fecal microbiota transplants aid in recovery from COVID-19, and the definition of characteristics and clinical patterns for the diagnosis of long COVID.

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Download TWiV 1124 (28 MB .mp3, 39 min)
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Links for this episode

CDC ACIP for RSV (CDC) 4:26
This respiratory virus season everyone age 75 and older receive the RSV vaccine (CDC Newsroom) 6:09
Revised RSV vaccine recommendations (CIDRAP)
COVID-19 national trend (CDC) 8:05
COVID-19 deaths (CDC) 8:05
Local and systemic response dynamics to SARS-CoV-2 infection (Nature) 9:56
Drink more coffee, reduces risk for SARS-C0V-2 infection (Cell & Bioscience) 14:24
Cannabis, tobacco smoking in general NOT good for preventing COVID-19 (JAMA Network OPEN) 15:00
Do older versions of the COVID-19 vaccine still provide any protection (JAMA Internal Medicine) 16:46
Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
Early phase of SARs-CoV-2 infection (COVID.gov)
NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
Adjuvant statin therapy reduces SARS-CoV-2 mortality (American Journal of Medicine)
Nirmatrelvir and ritonavir beyond 5 days of symptom onset improved the multiple organ dysfunction in severe COVID-19 patient (BMC Infectious Disease) 23:37
Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
What do when your heathcare provider is infected with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC)
Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID)
Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)
Faecal microbtiota transplantation cures sleep disturbance in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology) 26:43
Long COVID defined by patient phenotype (CIDRAP)
Three distinct symptom-based post-COVID condition phenotypes (JID) 30:39
Contribute to our Floating Doctors fundraiser 32:03
Letters read on TWiV 1126 32:31
Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf)
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

TWiV 1125: Can pig flu viruses go viral?

June 23, 2024

TWiV reviews criticism of NIAID monkeypox virus experiments by House Republicans, spread of wild poliovirus across Afghanistan and Pakistan, plan to overhaul NIH by House lawmakers, and the potential pandemic risk of circulating swine H1N2 influenza viruses.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Brianne Barker, and Angela Mingarelli

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Links for this episode

MicrobeTV Discord Server
2024 International HBV Meeting 2:30
House Republicans fault NIH for evasive answers on monkeypox virus study (Science) 3:10
Report on MPX experiments at NIAID (pdf)
Wild poliovirus spreads across Pakistan and Afghanistan (Science) 9:39
Plan to overhaul NIH (Science) 12:28
Reforming NIH (pdf) 12:28
Potential pandemic risk of circulating swine H1N2 influenza viruses (Nat Comm) 36:31
Letters read on TWiV 1125 1:04:38
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:17:38

Angela – Staring at the Sun — close-up images from space rewrite solar science
Brianne – Water frost detected on Mars Volcanos
Dickson – Best view yet of the Crab Nebula
Vincent – Will Your Tattoo Give You Cancer: Probably Not…but Maybe?

Listener Picks

Jessica – Manchurian plague

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1124: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

June 22, 2024

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin reviews the recent statistics on SARS-CoV-2 infection, before discussing methods for sterilizing filtering facepieces, an update to the fall COVID boosters, the emergency use application of a pre-exposure prophylactic and where to find it and drug interaction database, convalescent plasma, the effectiveness of the monoclonal antibody sotrovimab against Omicron variants, what to do when healthcare workers succumb to SARS-CoV-2 infection, the need for better nursing resources, how survivors of COVID-19-associated ARDS exhibited sustained elevation in endothelial dysfunction biomarkers, correlating with the severity of impaired gas exchange, reactivation of latent CMV as a consequence of a SARS-CoV-2 infection, identification of variables that might impact or predict a person’s time to recovery from an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection and if COVID-19 patients really have olfactory dysfunction more often than normally smelling individuals.

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Links for this episode

COVID-19 national trend CDC) 2:07
COVID-19 deaths (CDC) 2:07
Comparison of methods for sterilizing filtering facepiece respirators (American Journal of Infection Control) 3:19
Booster update already! KP.2 of JN.1-lineage (FDA) 6:31
EUA for pemgarda (FDA)
Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
Early phase of SARs-CoV-2 infection (COVID.gov)
NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
Revisiting monoclonal antibody therapy, sotrovimab for treatment during Omicron BA.2 and BA.5 (Infection) 10:01
What do when your healthcare provider is infected with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC)
Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
Steroids,dexamethasone at the right time (OFID)
Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)
Hospital nurse staffing variation & COVID-19 (International Journal of Nursing Studies) 15:43
Endothelial dysfunction and persistent inflammation severe post-COVID-19 (BMC Medicine) 20:03
Prevalence and risk for CMV reaction due to COVID-19 pneumonia (PLoS One) 23:50
Variables that impact recovery from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection (JAMA Network Open) 27:14
Reduced olfactory bulb volume with dysfunction after mild SARS-CoV-2 inction (Scientific Reports) 29:24
Contribute to our Floating Doctors fundraiser 30:44
Letters read on TWiV 1124 31:22
Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf)
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

TWiV 1123: Europic 2024 in Jyväskylä, Finland

June 16, 2024

Vincent travels to Europic 2024 in Jyväskylä, Finland to speak with Tapani Hovi and Caroline Tapparel about their careers and their research on enteroviruses and elimination of poliomyelitis.

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: Tapani Hovi and Caroline Tapparel

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Links for this episode

Survival of influenza virus on banknotes (Appl Environ Micro) 11:31
Variant EV-A71 in immunosuppressed patient (Cell Rep) 19:20
Rhinoviruses and respiratory enteroviruses (Viruses) 13:42
Isolation of poliovirus in mouse cells producing Pvr (J Clin Micro) 40:50
Outbreak of paralytic poliomyelitis in Finland (Lancet) 34:05
Role of environmental poliovirus surveillance in global polio eradication (Epi Infect) 39:12
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV 1122: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

June 15, 2024

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses expanded use of the RSV vaccine by GSK, how the youngest member of the MicrobeTV family was hospitalized with RSV, why we are seeing more RSV infections than before the pandemic and how administration of monoclonal antibody therapy does not prevent infection but disease, before reviewing the weekly US COVID update, how SARS-CoV-2 affects neurodevelopment of the fetus and probability of preeclampsia, if giving Paxlovid prevents long COVID, and FDA recommends switching from the XBB.1.5 variant to JN.1 for fall COVID-19 vaccine formulations.

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Download TWiV 1122 (30 MB .mp3, 41 min)
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Links for this episode

Young “Immune” co-host with RSV (YouTube)
RSV on Immune (MicrobeTV)
More children hospitalized with RSV after pandemic than before (Pediatrics) 3:46
France supports Nirsevimab for RSV (Influenza and other respiratory viruses) 5:49
Protects against disease not infection Nirsevimab (CIDRAP) 7:13
TWiV tells it likes it is: protects against disease NOT infection (TWiV 695) 7:33
RSV vaccine access expanded 50-59 (CIDRAP) 8:11
GSK RSV vaccine expanded use for high risk 50-year olds (GSK) 8:35
COVID-19 deaths 8:55
COVID-19 national trend 8:55
Neurodevelopmental delay in children whose mothers exposed to SARS-CoV-2 (Scientific Reports) 10:27
Preeclampsia associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection (Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine) 13:41
Effectiveness of nirmatelvir/ritonavir in children and adolescents (Nat Comm) 15:53
JN.1 for fall COVID-19 boosters (FDA)
COVID-19 vaccine booster switch (CIDRAP)
EUA for pemgarda (FDA)
Infusion centers near you! (pemgarda.com)
CDC quarantine guidelines (CDC)
Early phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID.gov) 18:57
NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (IDSociety)
Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
Molnupiravir safety and efficiacy (JMV)
Convalescent plasma recommendations for immunocompromised (ID Society)
Updated respiratory virus guidelines (CDC)
What to do when your healthcare provider is infected with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC)
Managing healthcare staff shortages (CDC)
Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID)
Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)
Long COVID evidence based review TWiV shout out (TWiV 1088)
Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir prevents long COVID-19? (JAMA Medicine) 19:42
Contribute to our Floating Doctors fundraiser 26:36
Letters read on TWiV 1122 27:10
Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf)
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]

TWiV Special: How the pandemic began in Nature, in 5 key points

June 10, 2024

TWiV rebuts a recent opinion piece which falsely claims that the COVID-19 pandemic began in a lab (it began in Nature). This material has been extracted from TWiV 1121.