So what have I learnt about #misinformation research? I tried to condense it into a list of the 5 biggest challenges the field faces.
Second story in my package of stories about misinformation research is up here (and thread to come):

science.org/content/articl… Let me start with the first:
What even is misinformation?
When I started reporting on the field, eager to delve into things I was really frustrated that I kept coming back to this basic question. I told friends it felt like trying to take a deep dive in a puddle, always forced back to the surface.

I’ve reported on infectious diseases for 15 years, but during the covid-19 pandemic and even more during the global outbreak of mpox clade IIb, I was shocked by the amount of misinformation I was seeing. Misinfo had always been part of any outbreak, but this felt different. I ended up spending almost a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow (@KSJatMIT) to try and understand misinformation/disinformation better, to - I hope - be a better infectious disease journalist.

I'm seeing a lot of confusion already out there about #mpox and the differences between clades and lineages. I will get into this in more detail later, but for now:
We really don't know for sure whether there is any material difference between clade Ia, Ib, IIa and IIb. The differences we see might have very little to do with the virus and everything to do with it affecting different populations in different places and spreading different ways once it gets into certain contact networks. Real world data is not comparing apples and apples here...

In May I wrote about researchers' plans to infect cows in high-security labs with avian influenza #H5N1 to better understand the infections and how easily the virus is transmitted. The results from two of these experiments are now out here in a preprint:
biorxiv.org/content/10.110… WHAT DID THEY DO?
In one experiment (at Kansas State University) 6 calves were infected with an #H5N1 isolate from the current outbreak oronasally and then housed together with three uninfected animals ("sentinels") two days later.

One question at the heart of the #h5n1 outbreak in US cows has been: Is there something special about this virus? Or is H5N1 generally able to do this and this particular version was just "in the right place at the right time"?
Quick thread, because it seems we have an answer Researchers in Germany have done an experiment in a high-security lab infecting cows directly with the strain of #H5N1 circulating in cows in the US (B3.13) and infecting others with an #h5n1 strain from a wild bird in Germany.
(I wrote about the plans here: )science.org/content/articl…

The thing that I find most frustrating about the entire mpox/gain-of-function debate is how the uncertainties that lie at the base of it all just become cemented as certainties that are then carried forward.
(If you know anything about me you know I love me some uncertainty...) Most importantly: The interim report on the investigation into these experiments released on Tuesday numerous times calls clade II "more transmissible" or even "much more transmissible".
But that is a claim that has very little evidence at all.

Some more details on the latest (3rd) human case of #H5N1 #avianflu linked to the current outbreak in dairy cows:
- second case in Michigan but not linked to the other case (different farm)
- reported cough and eye discomfort with watery discharge
- given oseltamivir, isolating at home "As with the previous two cases (one in Texas, one in Michigan), the person is a dairy farm worker with exposure to infected cows, making this another instance of probable cow-to-person spread."

A thought on communication:
In today’s presser's opening statement @USDA presented work on killing H5N1 in ground beef through cooking. They mentioned no virus being present at 160°F and 145°F. Only later when someone asked, they mentioned that at 120°F there was some virus left. @USDA I have thought a lot about trust and transparency in the wake of the #covid19 pandemic and to me this seems exactly the kind of communication style that does not build trust.
Yet another lesson not learnt in my book...

Researchers at @USDA have done a “ground beef cooking study” to test at what temperature #H5N1 in meat is killed. To be clear: Tests have found no H5N1 in beef samples, so this was done “in the interest of scientific inquiry and to further reaffirm consumer confidence” @USDA So researchers added #H5N1 to ground beef patties then cooked them:
“There was no virus present in the burgers cooked to 145° [Fahrhenheit] internal temperature, or roughly medium, or 160°, which equates with a well done burger, which is the recommended cooking temperature”

#h5n1 presser by @USDA and @HHSGov just ended. Had some some interesting bits (but what I would really love to see is still... serology): @USDA @HHSGov - USDA researchers have done a “ground beef cooking study” to test at what temperature #H5N1 in meat is killed. To be clear: Tests have found no H5N1 in beef samples, so this was done “in the interest of scientific inquiry and to further reaffirm consumer confidence”

With #H5N1 #birdflu spreading amongst dairy cows, one of the most important things to think about right now is what would need to happen for this virus to actually start a pandemic.
I'm on a train, so a brief thread... One thing to remember is that compared to some other influenza viruses H5N1 actually faces pretty high barriers to becoming a human-to-human pathogen. I wrote a story a little over a year ago outlining some of the changes it would probably need: science.org/content/articl…

The thing that most strikes me about the current #H5N1 #birdflu outbreak in cattle (and terrifies me to some extent) is how much the virus surprised us once again. And how cavalier our response seems in the face of that fact. Remember that this is not a new virus. As Martin Beer, an expert on bovine viruses and on influenza, told me a few days ago: “This is not SARS-CoV-2. There is 27 years of research on this virus.” And yet…

Stat’s @HelenBranswell talking about covid vaccine messaging and „The curse of the 95%“ now at @ESCMID #ECCMID2024 Many scientists realized that expectations for a vaccine that is injected into the arm to prevent a respiratory infection were too high, she says, but the public was not prepared for this…

So sad to hear that Paul Alexander passed yesterday at age 78 from Covid-19. Paul contracted polio in 1952, when he was just six years old. He ended up in an iron lung and while he could live outside it for extended periods of time he never really left it.

Two years ago my colleagues and I talked to Paul for a few polio episodes of our @pandemiapodcast.
Paul told us about the full life he lived, about the horror of the disease, about studying law and practicing as a lawyer, writing a book and much more.

The two papers on the #H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in cats in Poland make for really interesting reading. The first describes the outbreak and the second investigates the emergence and transmission.
(I'm on a train again so a brief thread). "Information about a highly fatal disease in cats with respiratory and nervous system signs began to circulate in social media and among cat lovers in mid-June 2023." Cases were mostly from cities but across the map...
https://t.co/R5vrPnMs0ieurosurveillance.org/content/10.280…

A paper just out in @Eurosurveillanc describes the large and ongoing #H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in fur farms in western Finland with infections in foxes, American minks and raccoon dogs. (Paper mentions 20 farms though 2 more have been affected since):
eurosurveillance.org/content/10.280… @Eurosurveillanc I wrote about an earlier outbreak on a fur farm in Spain last year and why these are concerning:
Here again it looks likely that the virus was transmitted from mammal to mammal and even between different species:science.org/content/articl…

I spoke to @WHO's new chief scientist @JeremyFarrar about why he decided to take the job, what new technologies the world needs to prepare for and how dangerous #SARSCoV2 remains.
Q&A is here (and short thread coming in a bit):
science.org/content/articl… @WHO @JeremyFarrar Farrar is only the second person to hold this post. @doctorsoumya, who was the first, had to pivot to #covid19 after a few months in the position and so, Farrar told me, "it’s fair to say that the role of chief scientist is still to be fully framed".

The @WHO has just declared an end to the #COVID19 public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
"I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency", says @DrTedros at press conference going on now. @WHO @DrTedros "That does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat", says @DrTedros.
"Last week, COVID-19 claimed a life every three minutes and that's just the deaths we know about."

According to a new update from @WHO, the #Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea is now up to 15 confirmed cases plus 23 probable cases.
All of the probable and at least 11 of the 15 confirmed cases have died (3 recovered, fate of one is unknown) Of the last 5 cases, 4 were reported in Bata district.
„The presence of confirmed cases in Bata increases the risk of disease spread, as it is the most populated city and economic hub of Equatorial Guinea, with an international airport and port.“

There is finally an update on the #Marburg situation in Equatorial Guinea:
Total now stands at 9 confirmed and 20 probable cases. A month ago there was only one confirmed case.

27 of these cases have died (including all probable and 7 out of 9 lab confirmed cases)

https://twitter.com/kakape/status/1625878133936214016

13 March: two positive tests from Kié-Ntem province
15 March: a case from Litoral province tests positive
„The two provinces (Kié-Ntem and Litoral) are located in different parts of the country, about 150 kilometers apart“

As someone who mostly covers #globalhealth, I find it remarkable that the closing statement of #HGESummit specifically addresses "Equitable access for somatic human genome editing".

So let me quote that part here in full: "As interventions based on somatic genome editing become more widespread, a commitment to equitable, financially sustainable, and accessible treatments becomes more urgent."