TWiV reviews eukaryotic viruses recovered from ancient permafrost, a mistake made by scientists on Omicron origins, and close relatives of MERS-CoV from bats that bind ACE2 for entry into cells.
In his weekly clinical update Dr. Griffin discusses how immunological dysfunction persists for 8 months following initial mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection, prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza coinfection and clinical characteristics among children and adolescents aged <18 years who were hospitalized or died with Influenza, WHO estimates of excess mortality associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, reconsideration of anti-nucleocapsid IgG antibody as a marker of SARS-CoV-2 infection post-vaccination for mild COVID-19 patients, impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on inpatient clinical outcome, clinical features and burden of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents, similar SARS-CoV-2 Ct value distributions in anterior nares versus nasopharyngeal samples from symptomatic children during Delta and Omicron surges, early estimates of bivalent mRNA vaccine effectiveness in preventing COVID-19, effect of Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir vs Placebo on COVID-19─related hospitalizations and other medical visits, COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma outpatient therapy to prevent outpatient hospitalization, bacterial co-infection and empirical antibiotic therapy in patients with COVID-19, association of time to surgery after COVID-19 infection with risk of postoperative cardiovascular morbidity, demonstration of stable clusters of symptoms in long COVID, and how longitudinal analysis of t cells in COVID-19 survivors with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 reveals associations between individual symptoms and inflammatory indexes.
Vincent travels to the NIH campus to speak with Jeffery Taubenberger about his career, the 1918 influenza pandemic, deciphering the genome sequence of the virus from tissues of disease victims and using it to rescue infectious virus.
Brazilian infectious diseases physician Esper Kallas returns to TWiV to discuss the state of viral diseases in his country, including those caused by Zika, dengue, and yellow fever viruses, MPOX, and SARS-CoV-2.
In his weekly clinical update Dr. Griffin discusses progress toward poliomyelitis eradication in Afghanistan, reduced risk for Mpox after receipt of 1 or 2 doses of JYNNEOS vaccine compared with risk among unvaccinated persons, reduced airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 Omicron virus in Syrian hamsters, authorized updated (Bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines for children down to 6 months of age, low neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.75.2, BQ.1.1, and XBB.1 by parental mRNA vaccine or a BA.5-bivalent booster, efficacy of antiviral agents against omicron subvariants BQ.1.1 and XBB, incidence of viral rebound after treatment with Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir and Molnupiravir, and the effectiveness of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in the prevention of post–COVID-19 conditions.
Vincent travels to Cornell University to speak with Gary Whittaker about regulation by proteolytic processing of the fusion activity of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, and feline coronavirus transmission, replication and disease.
Paul Offit returns to TWiV to discuss why the bivalent booster dosing story should be a cautionary tale of how not to move forward in this pandemic.
In his weekly clinical update Dr. Griffin discusses Mpox (formerly monkeypox) in women: epidemiological features and clinical characteristics of mpox cases in Spain, April to November 2022, triage of patients with Ebola virus disease, SARS-CoV-2 serology and self-reported infection among adults, serological markers of SARS-CoV-2 infection; anti-nucleocapsid antibody positivity may not be the ideal marker of natural infection in vaccinated individuals, sensitivity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein antibody for breakthrough infections during the epidemic of the Omicron variants, effect of wearing glasses on risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 in the community, and data-driven identification of post-acute SARS-CoV-2 infection subphenotypes.
In his weekly clinical update Dr. Griffin discusses effectiveness of influenza vaccination of pregnant women for prevention of maternal and early infant Influenza-associated hospitalizations in South Africa, a multivalent nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccine against all known influenza virus subtypes, single and 2-dose vaccinations with modified vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic induce durable B cell memory responses comparable to replicating smallpox vaccines, whether the risk of still and preterm birth is affected by the timing of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy, medical masks versus N95 respirators for preventing COVID-19 among health care workers, alarming antibody evasion properties of rising SARS-CoV-2 BQ and XBB subvariants, real-world evidence of novel treatments for COVID-19 on mortality: a nationwide comparative cohort study of hospitalized patients in the 1st, 2nd, 3rdand 4th wave in the Netherlands, and effectiveness and safety of extended thromboprophylaxis in post-discharge patients with COVID-19.
The TWiV team reveals a variant SARS-CoV-2 that emerged in deer with deer-to-human transmission, and hybrid virus particles produced by co-infection with influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus particles.
The Hosts of TWiV
Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D.
Brianne Barker, Ph.D.
Rich Condit, Ph.D.
Alan Dove, Ph.D.
Daniel Griffin, M.D.,
Ph.D., CTropMed CTH
Angela Mingarelli, DVM
Jolene Ramsey, Ph.D.
Kathy Spindler, Ph.D.