Elisabetta
viralrna.bsky.social
Elisabetta
@viralrna.bsky.social
Virologist, Lecturer in Global Health, developing a novel and affordable vaccine for Hepatitis A virus
PhD project available as part of the MRC LID scheme

mrc-lid.lshtm.ac.uk/2026-27-proj...
November 24, 2025 at 3:41 PM
David Baltimore, Nobel-Winning Molecular Biologist, Dies at 87 www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/s...
David Baltimore, Nobel-Winning Molecular Biologist, Dies at 87
www.nytimes.com
September 8, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
It is difficult, if not impossible, to think of a biomedical scientist whose many diverse discoveries had more impact than those of David Baltimore.

www.latimes.com/obituaries/s...
David Baltimore, Nobel Prize-winning scientist and former Caltech president, dies at 87
Baltimore played a role in virtually every important national debate over the use and potential misuse of the science of genetic engineering.
www.latimes.com
September 8, 2025 at 5:41 AM
With Drones and ‘Elephant Mosquitoes,’ China Wages All-Out War on a Virus www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/w...
With Drones and ‘Elephant Mosquitoes,’ China Wages All-Out War on a Virus
www.nytimes.com
August 6, 2025 at 8:34 PM
The great irony of vaccines is that populations become complacent about a disease and the need for immunisation largely because a successful vaccine made it feel as though the threat was consigned to the past”

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Look at the rise of measles in England and ask yourself: have we learned a single thing from Covid? | Frances Ryan
People grow complacent about vaccines precisely because they are so effective. What happened to collective responsibility, asks Guardian columnist Frances Ryan
www.theguardian.com
July 23, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
Another old blog transferred from Blogspot▶️WordPress (I'd forgotten this one from 2013!).

Human endemic coronaviruses, age and underlying conditions….

virologydownunder.com/human-endemi...
Human endemic coronaviruses, age and underlying conditions....
What is the contribution of HCoVs to severe acute respiratory disease among older populations?
virologydownunder.com
July 1, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Reposted by Elisabetta
Some more old blog transferring (from blogspot to WordPress)

Rhinoviruses (HRVs) in the blood reflect more HRV in the nasopharynx and worse disease...

virologydownunder.com/rhinoviruses...
Rhinoviruses (HRVs) in the blood reflect more HRV in the nasopharynx and worse disease...
A tale of respiratory viruses that can spread over into the blood when their viral loads are high enough.
virologydownunder.com
July 1, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Reposted by Elisabetta
There seemed to be one question on the minds of many senators grilling Susan Monarez, Trump’s pick to run the CDC, at a hearing on Wednesday: If confirmed, would she stand up to her boss, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.?
www.statnews.com/2025/06/25/c...
Trump’s pick to run the CDC walks a fine line on RFK Jr. at Senate hearing
Monarez was careful with her words at a Senate hearing on her nomination to run the CDC.
www.statnews.com
June 25, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
Wildlife trade acts as a vast global network of unregulated natural laboratories,with ample opportunities for viruses to circulate & evolve to become more dangerous

We can either turn a blind eye or try to understand & mitigate the risks

My latest in @nature.com

1/

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: Inside the thriving wild-animal markets that could start the next pandemic
Live-animal markets are a natural laboratory for viruses to evolve and spark deadly outbreaks, yet scientists lack support to study the risks they pose.
www.nature.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
Terminated CDC vaccine adviser Helen Chu spoke with STAT about her fears for the future of vaccine policy
www.statnews.com/2025/06/10/c...
Ousted CDC vaccine adviser says RFK Jr.'s message is clear: ‘Scientific expertise is no longer of use’
Terminated CDC vaccine adviser Helen Chu spoke with STAT about her fears for the future of vaccine policy
www.statnews.com
June 11, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
An explosive outbreak of mpox in Sierra Leone is raising fears of wider spread. The country of 9 million has seen more than 3000 cases already.
“We could see very rapid geographic expansion […] if we don’t really try and get things under control quickly,” says @kindrachukjason.bsky.social
🧪 #IDsky
Explosive mpox outbreak in Sierra Leone overwhelms health systems
Rapid transmission through sexual networks raises fears of wider spread in the region
www.science.org
June 2, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
Kennedy unilaterally strikes healthy kids & healthy pregnant people from the list of people who should get Covid boosters per the #CDC's approved schedule. There's a process for doing this, but it was not followed. "He's overstepped his bounds," one expert told STAT. www.statnews.com/2025/05/27/c...
RFK Jr. rolls back Covid vaccine recommendations for healthy children, pregnant people
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he has unilaterally struck the recommendation that healthy children and healthy pregnant people get Covid booster shots.
www.statnews.com
May 27, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
With U.S. absent, WHO adopts pandemic treaty aimed at improving vaccine access

www.statnews.com/2025/05/20/w...
With U.S. absent, WHO adopts pandemic treaty aimed at improving vaccine access
WHO members on Tuesday adopted a treaty that outlines how to prepare for and respond to pandemics. One country missing: the U.S.
www.statnews.com
May 20, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
This past winter was a tough one for #RSV. Yet a new study reports fewer infants needed hospitalization for the infection than in seasons past, suggesting the new RSV tools — maternal vaccination & monoclonal antibodies for babies 8 months & younger — are working. www.statnews.com/2025/05/08/c...
RSV sent fewer babies to the hospital last winter, after new treatment and vaccine arrived
Far fewer babies had severe cases of the respiratory illness RSV, in a winter in which a new monoclonal and vaccine became widely available.
www.statnews.com
May 8, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
Scientists question NIH project’s use of 20th century technology to make a universal flu vaccine
Scientists question NIH project’s use of 20th century technology to make a universal flu vaccine
$500 million NIH program to make vaccines against pathogens that can trigger pandemics uses approach pioneered in last century
buff.ly
May 5, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by Elisabetta
“Wilful vandalism’ of research programmes” @tetherin.bsky.social
Top secret US research lab studying SARS-CoV-2 shut amid safety concerns

The high security lab at Fort Detrick has long been linked by Chinese propagandists to the outbreak of Covid-19 without evidence

@sneweyy.bsky.social has the latest⬇️
www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...
Top secret US research lab studying SARS-CoV-2 shut amid safety concerns
The high security lab at Fort Detrick has long been linked by Chinese propagandists to the outbreak of Covid-19 without evidence
www.telegraph.co.uk
May 1, 2025 at 2:50 PM
www.wired.com/story/hhs-ni...

The US has played a crucial role in research but also outbreak response of high-consequences infectious diseases.

Closing down US facilities increases the danger to the world (and if you are thinking UK, well, think again, UK is not punching that high… yet? Ever?)
RFK Jr.’s HHS Orders Lab Studying Deadly Infectious Diseases to Stop Research
NIAID’s Integrated Research Facility is one of the few federal facilities charged with studying Ebola. Tuesday afternoon, all of its work was put on indefinite pause by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s departm...
www.wired.com
May 1, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
‘In the past, American science was led by distinguished scientists and administrators... Under the new administration, science leadership roles have been assigned to those without notable achievement, whose only real distinction is infamy’

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
We are witnessing the destruction of science in America | Paul Darren Bieniasz
If we stay on this administration’s course, future life-saving medicines may never be invented
www.theguardian.com
April 9, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
Reposted by Elisabetta
“This study is a landmark contribution to understanding mpox dynamics and guiding proactive prevention efforts across Africa and beyond.” scim.ag/4cvor2m
How do mpox outbreaks start? Dead baby monkey provides important clue
“Landmark” study fingers fire-footed rope squirrel as a reservoir of fatal disease
scim.ag
April 8, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Reposted by Elisabetta
Great news: #Tanzania 🇹🇿 has officially declared the end of the #Marburg virus disease outbreak.

Today, the Ministry of Health declared the end of the outbreak after 42 days with no new cases. This is a victory for public health in the country!

bit.ly/3XMKScU
March 13, 2025 at 2:44 PM
WHO weekly epi record: recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2025-2026 northern hemisphere influenza season

#vaccineswork

iris.who.int/bitstream/ha...
March 21, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Reposted by Elisabetta
March 14, 2025 at 6:32 AM