This Week in Virology

TWiV introduces sunshine virus of carpet pythons and its effect snakes after experimental infection, and development of a new tool to distinguish between naturally ocurring outbreaks and those that arise from lab accidents.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of TWiV!
Links for this episode
Support science education at MicrobeTV
Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email)
IgNobel Prize ceremony moved to Europe (Science)
Prasad is out of the FDA (again) (npr)
Sunshine virus in carpet pythons (J Virol)
Selection preceding epidemics and pandemics (Cell)
Letter read on TWiV 1305
Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Weekly Picks
Brianne – Galileo’s handwritten notes found in ancient astronomy text
Rich – Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Alan – High-resolution 3D imaging of the USS Monitor by NOAA’s new µSAS system
Vincent – The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli
Listener Pick
Douglas – Grandparents for vaccines

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.

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin and Vincent Racaniello discuss the global spread of the ‘eradicated’ poliovirus, the suggestion of RFK’s autocratic ability to change vaccine policy and the ‘resignation’ for the second time of CBER director Vinjay Prasad, and zoonotic spillover of viruses without adaptation, before Dr. Griffin deep dives into economic costs of not vaccinating against measles, the measles outbreak in South Carolina, Utah and ICE detention centers, recent statistics RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, Johns Hopkins measles tracker, where to find PEMGARDA, VRPBEC meeting for ‘flu’ vaccine strain selection, how to access and pay for Paxlovid, closing of long COVID treatment centers globally, and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of TWiV!
Links for this episode
Polio: Practice enhanced precautions…..but isn’t it eradicated? (CDC: Travelers’ Health)
RFK Jr has ‘unreviewable‘ authority to reshape vaccine policy, DOJ lawyer tells judge….’unreviewable’ is not even a word! (Reuters)
Stark Divide: Americans More Confident in Career Scientists at U.S. Health Agencies Than Leaders (Annenberg: Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania)
Divisive F.D.A. Vaccine Regulator Is Resigning…..for the second time in 6 months (NY Times)
Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients With Hematologic Malignancies Hospitalized With Respiratory Viral Infections (OFID)
Dynamics of natural selection preceding human viral epidemics and pandemics (Cell)
Recent pandemic viruses, including SAR-CoV-2, spread directly to people without adaptation, researchers say (CIDRAP)
Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan)
US CDC deploys staff to curb South Carolina’s measles outbreak (Reuters)
Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)
Measles Dashboard (South Carolina Department of Public Health)
Utah measles outbreak response (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)
UtahMeasles Dashboard (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)
Tracking Measles Cases in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins)
Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg)
Weekly measles and rubella monitoring (Government of Canada)
Measles (WHO)
Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health)
Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC)
Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC)
Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)
Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts (ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)
Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)
Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
Flu vaccine recommendations: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee March 12, 2026 Meeting Announcement (FDA)
WHO updates all 3 viral strains to be included in fall flu shots (CIDRAP)
Weekly surveillance report: cliff notes (CDC FluView)
OPTION 2: XOFLUZA $50 Cash Pay Option (xofluza)
RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
USrespiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)
Vaccines for Adults (CDC: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV))
Economic Analysis of Protein Subunit and mRNA RSV Vaccination in Adults aged 50-59 Years (CDC: ACIP)
Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
Effectiveness of RSV Vaccines against RSV-Associated Thromboembolic Events (CDC: Emerging Infectious Diseases)
Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
COVID-19 deaths (CDC)
Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel (CDC: Respiratory Illnesses)
COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)
COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)
SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)
Characteristics of Young Children Hospitalized With Acute Respiratory Failure From Infection With Respiratory Syncytial Virus, SARS-CoV-2, or Both, November 2023–March 2024 (OFID)
Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
EUAfor the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)
Infusion center (Prime Fusions)
CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
Help your eligible patients access PAXLOVID with the PAXCESS Patient Support Program (Pfizer Pro)
UnderstandingCoverageOptions (PAXCESS)
Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)
Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
Anticoagulationguidelines (hematology.org)
Daniel Griffin’s evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID)
Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center)
The answers: Long COVID
Where are the long COVID clinics? (ScienceNews)
Left without care: Many Long COVID clinics are closing down in the U.K. (The Sick Times)
Where have all the Long COVID clinics gone? (The Sick Times)
Reaching out to US house representative
Letters read on TWiV 1304
Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf)
Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees
Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]
Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV reviews an association between shingles vaccination and slower biological aging, and how mucosal immunization in mice provides protection against disease caused by diverse viruses and bacteria.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of TWiV!
Links for this episode
Support science education at MicrobeTV
Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email)
Shingles vaccination may slow biological aging (J Gerontol)
Getting virus classification and nomenclature right (J Virol)
Mucosal vaccination blocks diverse respiratory diseases (Science)
Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
 
Weekly Picks
Brianne – I grew up unvaccinated. Now I’m an Immunologist
Rich – Horizons from PBS News – The science behind exercise and why it’s good for our bodies; The London Busman Study (Cardiac Health)
Alan – Waste Wars: The Wild Afterlife of Your Trash, by Alexander Clapp
Vincent – America vs the World by Robert Kagan
Listener Pick
Anne – Winners of the 2026 Underwater Photographer of the Year Award

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.

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin and Vincent Racaniello talk about the health misconceptions that RFK Jr continues to perpetuate and how to combat them, first cases of highly pathogenic influenza in the California elephant seal population before Dr. Griffin deep dives into economic costs of not vaccinating against measles, the measles outbreak in South Carolinaand Utah, ICE detention centers, lack of accurate reporting may prevent the US from losing its status as a country that eliminated measles, immune amnesia from measles infection, influenza strain selection for the 2026-2027 vaccine,  recent statistics for RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, Johns Hopkins measles tracker, where to find PEMGARDA, how to access and pay for Paxlovid, when to use steroids for treating influenza, long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, clinical trials for long COVID treatment including GLP-1 inhibitors and IVIG and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of TWiV!
Links for this episode
Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD (Substack)
You can know things! (Substack)
Kmpanthagani: Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD Instagram)
Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD kmpanthagani (Threads)
Psychological inoculation improves resilience against misinformation on social media (Science)
5 Logical fallacies in the era of RFK Jr. (Substack)
Tecovirimat for the Treatment of Mpox (NEJM)
California records avian flu in northern elephant seals (CIDRAP)
First Cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Northern Elephant Seals Confirmed in California (UC Davis)
Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan)
The health and economic repercussions of declining MMR coverage in the United States (medRxiv)
2025 measles resurgence carries estimated $244 million price tag (CIDRAP)
US builds case to retain measles elimination status as infections mount (Reuters)
Expert meeting on US measles elimination status delayed to November (Reuters)
‘Nearly Every’ Child With Measles Suffers This Hidden Threat (Medscape)
CDC acting director Bhattacharya urges use of measles vaccine (Reuters)
Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)
Measles Dashboard (South Carolina Department of Public Health)
Utah measles outbreak response (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)
Utah Measles Dashboard (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)
Escobar: ICE sending sick migrants to El Paso hospitals for quarantine (BorderReport)
Tracking Measles Cases in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins)
Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg)
Weekly measles and rubella monitoring (Government of Canada)
Measles (WHO)
Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health)
Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola))
Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC)
Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC)
Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)
Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts(ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)
Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)
Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
Flu vaccine recommendations: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee March 12, 2026 Meeting Announcement (FDA)
WHO updates all 3 viral strains to be included in fall flu shots (CIDRAP)
Weekly surveillance report: cliff notes (CDC FluView)
OPTION 2: XOFLUZA $50 Cash Pay Option (xofluza)
RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)
Vaccines for Adults (CDC: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV))
Economic Analysis of Protein Subunit and mRNA RSV Vaccination in Adults aged 50-59 Years (CDC: ACIP)
Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
RSV Detection and Antibiotic Prescribing Decisions for Pediatric Respiratory Tract Infections (JAMA Network)
Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
COVID-19 deaths (CDC)
Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel (CDC: Respiratory Illnesses)
COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)
COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)
SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)
Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
EUAfor the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)
Infusion center (Prime Fusions)
CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)
NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)
Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)
Help your eligible patients access PAXLOVID with the PAXCESS Patient Support Program (Pfizer Pro)
Understanding Coverage Options (PAXCESS)
Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)
Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)
Anticoagulationguidelines (hematology.org)
Daniel Griffin’s evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID)
Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center)
The answers: Long COVID
SARS-CoV-2Persistence and the Gut Microbiota: New Insights into Long COVID Pathogenesis (MDPI)
Neither Metformin nor Ursodeoxycholic Acid Effectively Treats Postacute Sequelae of COVID-19 (Annals of Internal Medicine)
Long COVID: RECOVER-TLC Clinical Trials (Foundation for the National Institute of Health)
Design and rationale of RECOVER-AUTONOMIC: A randomized platform trial evaluating interventions for Long COVID postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (American Heart Journal)
Dr. Ruth’s Newsletter: COVID, Flu & Health News, 3/1/26 (Substack) Reaching out to US house representative
Letters read on TWiV 1302
Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf)
Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees
Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]
Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

TWiV reviews lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus seroprevalence among urban pregnant women and newborns in Philadelphia, and a functional translation initiation complex encoded in the genome of giant viruses that drives synthesis of viral structural proteins.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Angela Mingarelli
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of TWiV!
Links for this episode
Support science education at MicrobeTV
Positions in Rosenfeld Lab (email)
LCMV seroprevalence among pregnant women (Emerg Inf Dis)
Giant viruses encode functional vIF4F (Cell)
Ribosomal proteins encoded in viral genomes (virology blog)
Letters read on TWiV 1301
Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Weekly Picks
Angela – “The Song of the Cell” by Siddhartha Mukherjee.
Kathy – Fitbit for farts (WSJ and 1° article)
Rich – The Password That Lets Caterpillars Hide in an Ant’s Lair
Vincent – Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Listener Pick
Larry – Get an early start! (primary article)

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.