This Week in Virology

TWiV 911: Antibody can get vaccinated now

June 19, 2022

TWiV provides an update on hepatitis of unknown etiology in children, an experimental nanoparticle vaccine for Epstein-Barr virus, and minimal impact of bamlanivimab therapy on antiviral antibodies induced by vaccination.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker

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Hepatitis of unknown etiology (MMWR) 6:49
Clinical recognition of monkeypox (CDC) 47:49
Epstein-Barr virus nanoparticle vaccine (Cell Rep Med) 14:22
Minimal impact of mAb therapy on COVID vaccine induced antibodies (Sci Trans Med) 48:51
Letters read on TWiV 911 1:05:43
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:41:20

Brianne – A Frog So Small, It Could Not Frog
Kathy – A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
Rich – Archive
Vincent – Bandwagoning by Heran Darwin

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 910: COVID-19 clinical update #119 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

June 18, 2022

In COVID-19 clinical update #119, Dr. Griffin reviews tixagevimab for infection prevention, ivermectin for outpatient infection treatment, symptom rebound after PAXLOVID treatment, bamlanivimab minimally impacting immune response to vaccination, in-hospital mortality among infection patients, residual viral antigen in patients following infection, usage of Casirvimab/Imdevimab and Remdesivir in infected patients with depleted B-cells, and rheumatic symptoms following infection.

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Links for this episode

Tixagevimab-Cilgavimab for infection prevention (NEJM) 15:33
Ivermectin for outpatient infection treatment (medRxiv) 20:10
Symptom rebound after PAXLOVID treatment (IDSA) 27:17, 28:11
Bamlanivimab minimally impacts immune response to vaccination (Sci Transl Med) 30:50
In-hospital morality among infected patients (IDSA) 33:33
Casirvimab/Imdevimab & Remdesivir for infected B-cell depleted patients (IDSA) 35:18
PAXLOVID patient eligibility screening checklist (FDA)
Remdesivir fact sheet for providers (Veklury)
Bebtelovimab fact sheet for providers (FDA)
Residual viral antigen in patients post infection (IDSA) 36:07
Rheumatic symptoms following infection (IDSA) 38:39
Contribute to FIMRC fundraiser at PWB 40:08
Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (pdf)
Letters read on TWiV 910 40:59
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 909: Art of science

June 16, 2022

From ASM Microbe 2022 in Washington DC, Vincent and Michael speak with science artists Michele Banks and Jane Hartman about their work and their inspiration.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Michael Schmidt

Guests: Michele Banks and Jane Hartman

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Trilobite Glassworks (Jane Hartman) 1:16
Artologica (Michele Banks) 1:30
Science art with Michele Banks (TWiV 352) 1:36
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 907: When the cats and mice are away, the viruses play

June 12, 2022

TWiV discusses the situation with monkeypox, risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infections of cats and dogs, and a lineage-tracing mouse model for studying papillomavirus infections.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker

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Links for this episode

Monkeypox update (CDC) 3:42
SARS-CoV-2 infection of cats and dogs (Emerg Inf Dis) 6:01
Mouse papillomavirus identification (Vet Patrol) 40:25
Mouse model for papillomavirus infection (eLife) 28:04
Vincent interviews Harald zur Hausen (virology blog) 39:18
Letters read on TWiV 907 1:10:56
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks 1:29:52

Brianne – Microbes Rule! at Liberty Science Center
Rich – Artemis I update: Mission diagram, mission in photos, launch dates
Vincent – Eco-sustainable 3D printed house – Tecla

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 908: COVID-19 clinical update #118 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

June 11, 2022

In COVID-19 clinical update #118, Dr. Griffin discusses management of hair loss after infection, FDA announcements on vaccine schedule and recommendations, Moderna announcement on bivalent booster candidate, association between vaccination and infection during pregnancy, population-level implications of Israel’s booster campaign, PAXLOVID outcomes during recent infection surge, efficacy and safety of Tixagevimab-cilgavimab, diagnostic accuracy of infection by canines, efficacy of colchicine in hospitalized patients, and factors associated with hospital readmission.

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Links for this episode

Management of hair loss after infection (NIH) 34:58
FDA announces vaccine schedule meeting (FDA) 4:21
FDA advisory committee recommends NOVAVAX vaccine (Novavax) 1:57
Moderna announces bivalent booster candidate (Moderna) 12:17
Association of vaccination and infection during pregnancy (JAMA) 16:10
Implications of Israeli booster campaign (Science Translational Medicine) 17:25
PAXLOVID patient eligibility screening checklist (FDA) 22:42
Remdesivir fact sheet for providers (Veklury)
Bebtelovimab fact sheet for providers (FDA)
PAXLOVID outcomes during infection surge (Research Square) 23:20
Efficacy and safety of Tixagevimab–cilgavimab (The Lancet) 25:58
Diagnostic accuracy of infection by canines (PLOS ONE) 5:42
Efficacy of colchicine in hospitalized patients (Nature) 28:22
Factors associated with readmission (IDSA) 33:40
Contribute to FIMRC fundraiser at PWB 39:02
Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (pdf)
Letters read on TWiV 908 39:55
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 906: Long COVID, giant viruses, and smallish pox

June 5, 2022

TWiV reviews human monkeypox infections, evidence for human Mimivrus infections, and incidence of long COVID in post-vaccine SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker

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Weekly Picks 1:25:29

Dickson – Lake Mead water level very low
Brianne – Transplantation of a 3D printed ear made out of human cells
Rich – nderstanding Vaccine Safety and the Roles of the FDA and the CDC and The Facts About Vaccine Safety
Vincent – My new favorite backpack

Listener Pick

Greg – Against the Rules

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 905: COVID-19 clinical update #117 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

June 4, 2022

In COVID-19 clinical update #117, Dr. Griffin discusses duration of virus shedding, association between pre-exposure to steroids and infection outcome, post-infection subtypes, rehabilitation for post-acute infection, Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab for infection prevention, antibody prophylaxis and vaccination in kidney transplant recipients, remdesivir and bebtelovimab fact sheets for providers, the updated guidelines on treatment with Famotidine, Paxlovid rebound symptom characterizations, antigen test positivity duration, viral dynamics of variants and isolation, association of inflammation in CS fluid, and transmission dynamics in Ghana.

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Links for this episode

Duration of virus shedding (NIH) 12:12
Association between pre-exposure to steroids and infection outcome (CMI) 29:36
Post-infection subtypes (medRxiv) 34:42
Rehabilitation for post-acute infection syndrome (MDPI) 36:05
Tixagevimab/Cilgavimab for infection prevention (medRxiv) 5:53
Antibody prophylaxis & vaccination in kidney transplant recipients (Kidney International) 7:49
Guideline on treatment with Famotidine (IDSA) 1:21
Remdesivir fact sheet for providers (Veklury) 29:07
Bebtelovimab fact sheet for providers (FDA) 29:10
PAXLOVID rebound symptom characterization (medRxiv) 25:04
Antigen test positivity duration (medRxiv) 24:14
Viral dynamics of variants and isolation (NIH) 16:17
Association of inflammation in CS fluid (JAMA) 31:35
Transmission dynamics in Ghana (ASTMH) 37:24
Contribute to FIMRC fundraiser at PWB 39:14
Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (pdf)
Letters read on TWiV 905 39:44
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV 904: 50 years of reverse transcriptase

May 29, 2022

Vincent travels to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to speak with David Baltimore, John Coffin, and Harold Varmus about the discovery in 1970 of retroviral reverse transcriptase and its impact on life sciences research.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello

Guests: David Baltimore, John Coffin, and Harold Varmus

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Links for this episode

Fifty Years of Reverse Transcriptase (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) 00:29
50th Anniversary of RT discovery (Mol Biol Cell)
RT in virions of Rous sarcoma virus – Temin (Nature) 14:00
RNA-dependent DNA polymerase in tumor virus particles – Baltimore (Nature) 12:36

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected]

TWiV 903: COVID-19 clinical update #116 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

May 28, 2022

In COVID-19 clinical update #115, Dr. Griffin discusses croup association with infection surge, rhinovirus co-circulation in children, shedding following vaccination, high vaccine efficacy in children 6 mo-5 yr, vaccine protection for hospitalized patients, convalescent plasma as post-exposure prophylaxis, real-world effectiveness of PAXLOVID, effectiveness of PAXLOVID in reducing hospitalization, infection rebound after PAXLOVID, relapse of symptomatic infection after PAXLOVID, remdesivir and bebtelovimab fact sheets for providers, guidelines on usage of anticoagulation drugs, long covid symptoms after vaccination, excess mortality in MA, infection sequelae and immunity, and post infection conditions among adults.

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Download TWiV 903 (29 MB .mp3, 48 min)
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Links for this episode

Croup association with infection surge (PIDS) 9:18
Rhinovirus co-circulation in children (Jornal de Pediatria) 10:02
Infection shedding following vaccination (MedRxiV) 1203
High vaccine efficacy in children 6 months to 5 years (Pfizer) 17:19
Protection of vaccine against hospitalized patients (IDSA) 18:36
Convalescent plasma as post-exposure prophylaxis (IDSA) 21:50
Real-world effectiveness of PAXLOVID in Hong-Kong (MedRxiV) 23:35
Effectiveness of PAXLOVID in reducing hospitalization (The Lancet) 26:02
Infection rebound after PAXLOVID (CDC) 26:50
Relapse of symptomatic infection after PAXLOVID (Research Square) 29:35
Remdesivir fact sheet for providers (Veklury)
Bebtelovimab fact sheet for providers (FDA)
Guidelines on usage of anticoagulation drugs (ASH)
Long covid symptoms after vaccination (BMJ) 39:29
Excess morality in Massachusetts (JAMA) 7:48
Infection sequelae and immunity (Annals of Internal Medicine) 36:41
Post infection conditions among adults (CDC) 37:37
Contribute to FIMRC fundraiser at PWB 40:08
Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (pdf)
Letters read on TWiV 903 40:46
Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV Special: Monkeypox clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

May 26, 2022

In this special episode, Dr. Griffin answers questions about the recent cases of monkeypox including their origin, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and overall risk.