Dr. Rowan Durrant
@rowandurrant.bsky.social
Postdoc at McMaster University, formerly University of Glasgow 🦠 rabies genomics & modelling 🐕 she/her
Pinned
Looks like I've been added to a couple of starter packs over the weekend, so to (re)introduce myself: hi, I'm Rowan, and I'm in the end stages of my PhD in infectious diseases studying rabies 🧪 Outside of academia I enjoy climbing/mountaineering, chess and knitting!
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Differences in codon usage between host-species-specific rabies virus clades are driven by UpA and purine content https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.12.699068v1
January 13, 2026 at 3:18 AM
Differences in codon usage between host-species-specific rabies virus clades are driven by UpA and purine content https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.12.699068v1
New preprint! We had a look at the codon and dinucleotide usage of rabies clades that circulate in specific host species, and found some interesting differences, particularly between carnivore- and bat-associated clades 👀
Coauthors on bluesky: @jdushoff.bsky.social @matt-arnold-bio.bsky.social
Coauthors on bluesky: @jdushoff.bsky.social @matt-arnold-bio.bsky.social
Differences in codon usage between host-species-specific rabies virus clades are driven by UpA and purine content
Viral genes sometimes use certain codons more than others due to their nucleotide content, translational efficiency, and selection pressure from the host immune system. The rabies virus (RABV) is a ne...
www.biorxiv.org
January 13, 2026 at 2:48 PM
New preprint! We had a look at the codon and dinucleotide usage of rabies clades that circulate in specific host species, and found some interesting differences, particularly between carnivore- and bat-associated clades 👀
Coauthors on bluesky: @jdushoff.bsky.social @matt-arnold-bio.bsky.social
Coauthors on bluesky: @jdushoff.bsky.social @matt-arnold-bio.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Check out our new print that combines dense sequencing and phylodynamics to uncover a bunch of 😎 things about an understudied virus.
- Doesn't evolve for 10 months a year ✅
- Uses some mossies for maintenance, others for spread ✅
- Established in Northeast for ~300 years ✅
- Doesn't evolve for 10 months a year ✅
- Uses some mossies for maintenance, others for spread ✅
- Established in Northeast for ~300 years ✅
January 12, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Check out our new print that combines dense sequencing and phylodynamics to uncover a bunch of 😎 things about an understudied virus.
- Doesn't evolve for 10 months a year ✅
- Uses some mossies for maintenance, others for spread ✅
- Established in Northeast for ~300 years ✅
- Doesn't evolve for 10 months a year ✅
- Uses some mossies for maintenance, others for spread ✅
- Established in Northeast for ~300 years ✅
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Ötzi and a 45,000-year-old Siberian were both infected with a cancer-causing strain of HPV.
This is fascinating, and a reminder that we have a vaccine that *prevents cancer* and everyone eligible should get it.
This is fascinating, and a reminder that we have a vaccine that *prevents cancer* and everyone eligible should get it.
Two ancient humans, including famed ‘Iceman,’ had cancer-causing virus
Findings from ancient DNA may shed light on HPV’s history in our species
www.science.org
December 24, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Ötzi and a 45,000-year-old Siberian were both infected with a cancer-causing strain of HPV.
This is fascinating, and a reminder that we have a vaccine that *prevents cancer* and everyone eligible should get it.
This is fascinating, and a reminder that we have a vaccine that *prevents cancer* and everyone eligible should get it.
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
BBC News - Drones detect deadly virus in Arctic whales' breath
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... (it is, in case you're wondering, cetacean morbillivirus)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... (it is, in case you're wondering, cetacean morbillivirus)
Drones detect deadly virus in Arctic whales' breath
Whale breath collected by drones is giving clues to the health of wild humpbacks and other whales.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 8:19 AM
BBC News - Drones detect deadly virus in Arctic whales' breath
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... (it is, in case you're wondering, cetacean morbillivirus)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... (it is, in case you're wondering, cetacean morbillivirus)
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
This is a really cool project, I was lucky to have the opportunity to participate.
news.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-res...
news.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-res...
McMaster research team digitizes more than 100 years of Canadian infectious disease data
The new, publicly accessible database contains more than a million infectious disease incidence counts dating back to 1903.
news.mcmaster.ca
December 18, 2025 at 5:41 PM
This is a really cool project, I was lucky to have the opportunity to participate.
news.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-res...
news.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-res...
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Amazing novel mpox recombination between epidemic clade 1 and 2 in returning traveller detected in UK: virological.org/t/inter-clad...
Inter-Clade Recombinant Mpox Virus Detected in England in a Traveller Recently Returned from Asia
Inter-Clade Recombinant Mpox Virus Detected in England in a Traveller Recently Returned from Asia Authors: Steven T. Pullan1, Isobel Everall1, Rebecca Doherty1, Lucy Crossman1, Emma Wise1, Hassan Ha...
virological.org
December 8, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Amazing novel mpox recombination between epidemic clade 1 and 2 in returning traveller detected in UK: virological.org/t/inter-clad...
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
This is extremely rare and extremely awful. “The report said that organ donations are not routinely tested for rabies “because of its rarity in humans in the United States and the complexity of diagnostic testing.” @jackiantonovich.bsky.social
Kidney Recipient Dies After Transplant From Organ Donor Who Had Rabies
www.nytimes.com
December 6, 2025 at 4:09 PM
This is extremely rare and extremely awful. “The report said that organ donations are not routinely tested for rabies “because of its rarity in humans in the United States and the complexity of diagnostic testing.” @jackiantonovich.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
I’ve released a tool to sketch and edit phylogenetic trees!
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/
Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/
Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
PhyloWeaver – Interactive phylogenetic tree editor
Edit and visualize phylogenetic trees directly in your browser. PhyloWeaver lets you interactively rearrange tree topologies and export high-quality figures for publications and presentations.
yawak.jp
November 18, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I’ve released a tool to sketch and edit phylogenetic trees!
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/
Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
yawak.jp/PhyloWeaver/
Load a Newick file and intuitively add/remove/resize branches.
Useful for quick conceptual trees, extracting subtrees, or turning ideas into Newick.
is nothing safe from AI
November 18, 2025 at 2:45 PM
is nothing safe from AI
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
The outbreak in Ethiopia is #Marburg virus, the first such outbreak for this country. 9 cases so far, including some health workers. x.com/drtedros/sta...
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X: "#Ethiopia has confirmed the outbreak that has infected at least 9 people in the south of the country is of #Marburg virus disease. I commend Ethiopia’s @FMoHealth for its rapid and transparent response to the outbreak, and the work of the Ethiopia Public Health Institute and" / X
#Ethiopia has confirmed the outbreak that has infected at least 9 people in the south of the country is of #Marburg virus disease. I commend Ethiopia’s @FMoHealth for its rapid and transparent response to the outbreak, and the work of the Ethiopia Public Health Institute and
x.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:22 PM
The outbreak in Ethiopia is #Marburg virus, the first such outbreak for this country. 9 cases so far, including some health workers. x.com/drtedros/sta...
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Update on the wild #polio discovery in Germany: The virus was found in wastewater in Hamburg. @rki.de, the German public health agency, says the virus sequence is very similar to some isolated in Afghanistan, so the likely source was an infected human. (page 10 here: www.rki.de/DE/Aktuelles...)
www.rki.de
November 13, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Update on the wild #polio discovery in Germany: The virus was found in wastewater in Hamburg. @rki.de, the German public health agency, says the virus sequence is very similar to some isolated in Afghanistan, so the likely source was an infected human. (page 10 here: www.rki.de/DE/Aktuelles...)
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
My 1st first-author paper is out as a preprint! Excited to share the fascinating story of marine-feeding vampire bats 🌊🦇 We found that marine-diet bats were exposed to #H5#AvianFlu 🦠 from marine wildlife and could potentially spread it to livestock via blood feed🩸
doi.org/10.1101/2025.11.09.686930
doi.org/10.1101/2025.11.09.686930
November 11, 2025 at 8:38 PM
My 1st first-author paper is out as a preprint! Excited to share the fascinating story of marine-feeding vampire bats 🌊🦇 We found that marine-diet bats were exposed to #H5#AvianFlu 🦠 from marine wildlife and could potentially spread it to livestock via blood feed🩸
doi.org/10.1101/2025.11.09.686930
doi.org/10.1101/2025.11.09.686930
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Regardless of fox’s actual rabies status.
This is your reminder vaccinate for rabies. Always. Even if indoor only.
The ONLY way to test for rabies is euthanize the animal and remove brain tissue. There is no live test for rabies and your state/local health department will not play
This is your reminder vaccinate for rabies. Always. Even if indoor only.
The ONLY way to test for rabies is euthanize the animal and remove brain tissue. There is no live test for rabies and your state/local health department will not play
Apparently missing out on some exciting rabid fox neighborhood drama
Got this photo via two different group chats
Got this photo via two different group chats
November 9, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Regardless of fox’s actual rabies status.
This is your reminder vaccinate for rabies. Always. Even if indoor only.
The ONLY way to test for rabies is euthanize the animal and remove brain tissue. There is no live test for rabies and your state/local health department will not play
This is your reminder vaccinate for rabies. Always. Even if indoor only.
The ONLY way to test for rabies is euthanize the animal and remove brain tissue. There is no live test for rabies and your state/local health department will not play
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
BREAKING: "The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has notified the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status."
Statement from the Public Health Agency of Canada on Canada’s Measles Elimination Status
Following over 12 months of transmission across the country, PAHO confirms Canada's loss of measles elimination status. We are coordinating efforts with provinces and territories to restore the status...
www.canada.ca
November 10, 2025 at 2:36 PM
BREAKING: "The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has notified the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status."
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
🚨 NEW: The majority holder of the world's genetic sequence data is a bad actor who can cut off access to critics and competing services. We've tolerated this for years, and now it threatens the pandemic treaty. Time for WHO to step in. With @ctrlalttim.com: www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/to-f...
To Finish the Pandemic Agreement, WHO Needs a Trustworthy Viral Database | Think Global Health
Online platforms for sharing virus sequences are in disarray. The World Health Organization has a chance to build something new
www.thinkglobalhealth.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
🚨 NEW: The majority holder of the world's genetic sequence data is a bad actor who can cut off access to critics and competing services. We've tolerated this for years, and now it threatens the pandemic treaty. Time for WHO to step in. With @ctrlalttim.com: www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/to-f...
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Sarawak rabies update
Sadly rabies continues there 😢 Now 80 deaths since 2017
“no record of any animal bite or scratch,“ but “handled the carcass of his pet dog in June”
(CW: angry dog photo)
51-year-old man is Sarawak’s sixth rabies fatality for 2025
www.theborneopost.com/2025/10/28/5...
Sadly rabies continues there 😢 Now 80 deaths since 2017
“no record of any animal bite or scratch,“ but “handled the carcass of his pet dog in June”
(CW: angry dog photo)
51-year-old man is Sarawak’s sixth rabies fatality for 2025
www.theborneopost.com/2025/10/28/5...
November 5, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Sarawak rabies update
Sadly rabies continues there 😢 Now 80 deaths since 2017
“no record of any animal bite or scratch,“ but “handled the carcass of his pet dog in June”
(CW: angry dog photo)
51-year-old man is Sarawak’s sixth rabies fatality for 2025
www.theborneopost.com/2025/10/28/5...
Sadly rabies continues there 😢 Now 80 deaths since 2017
“no record of any animal bite or scratch,“ but “handled the carcass of his pet dog in June”
(CW: angry dog photo)
51-year-old man is Sarawak’s sixth rabies fatality for 2025
www.theborneopost.com/2025/10/28/5...
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Oh heck no. Anti-vaccine disinformation is now making some owners refuse to vaccinate their pets against rabies.
Vaccine Skepticism Comes for Pet Owners, Too
www.nytimes.com
October 27, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Oh heck no. Anti-vaccine disinformation is now making some owners refuse to vaccinate their pets against rabies.
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Our paper on the phenomenon of persistence and latency in Ebola virus in an unobserved reservoir is finally out in preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Evidence of latency reshapes our understanding of Ebola virus reservoir dynamics
Ebola virus (EBOV) has caused severe outbreaks of haemorrhagic fever in Central and West Africa since the first observed zoonotic epidemic in the late 1970s. While recent outbreaks have revealed much ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 19, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Our paper on the phenomenon of persistence and latency in Ebola virus in an unobserved reservoir is finally out in preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
The fact that the 6 L (leucine) codons come together to form an L should be interpreted as a sign that this is a good way to visualize the aa table. 🙂
8/8
8/8
September 30, 2025 at 6:53 PM
The fact that the 6 L (leucine) codons come together to form an L should be interpreted as a sign that this is a good way to visualize the aa table. 🙂
8/8
8/8
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Working with @rowandurrant.bsky.social on ways to visualize the amino-acid table and better understand viral evolution.
We started with a two-by scheme for nucleotides (small square), where bond partners are horizontally adjacent and transition-connected nts are vertically adjacent.
1/8
We started with a two-by scheme for nucleotides (small square), where bond partners are horizontally adjacent and transition-connected nts are vertically adjacent.
1/8
September 30, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Working with @rowandurrant.bsky.social on ways to visualize the amino-acid table and better understand viral evolution.
We started with a two-by scheme for nucleotides (small square), where bond partners are horizontally adjacent and transition-connected nts are vertically adjacent.
1/8
We started with a two-by scheme for nucleotides (small square), where bond partners are horizontally adjacent and transition-connected nts are vertically adjacent.
1/8
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Sequence data from the new Ebola outbreak in DRC suggests it is indeed a new spillover.
And just incredible to see the virus sequenced and the data publicly shared less than 24 hours after confirmation of the outbreak.
#IDsky 🧪
virological.org/t/the-16th-e...
And just incredible to see the virus sequenced and the data publicly shared less than 24 hours after confirmation of the outbreak.
#IDsky 🧪
virological.org/t/the-16th-e...
The 16th Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Bulape Health Zone, Kasai, Democratic Republic of the Congo: A new spillover event from an unknown reservoir host
Background The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is currently facing concurrent outbreaks including mpox, cholera and malaria (1-4). The Ministry of Public Health, DRC has declared the 16th Ebola...
virological.org
September 5, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Sequence data from the new Ebola outbreak in DRC suggests it is indeed a new spillover.
And just incredible to see the virus sequenced and the data publicly shared less than 24 hours after confirmation of the outbreak.
#IDsky 🧪
virological.org/t/the-16th-e...
And just incredible to see the virus sequenced and the data publicly shared less than 24 hours after confirmation of the outbreak.
#IDsky 🧪
virological.org/t/the-16th-e...
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
Six deaths from rabies have been reported over the last 12 months in the U.S., the highest number in years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
'They would never have known:' New warnings about rabies outbreaks as cases rise in the U.S.
The CDC's rabies team says it's tracking 15 different likely outbreaks from New York to Oregon.
www.nbcnews.com
September 1, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Six deaths from rabies have been reported over the last 12 months in the U.S., the highest number in years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Reposted by Dr. Rowan Durrant
New study on scientific understanding in the US:
Vaccines have mostly been a benefit to human health
69% Agree
20% Unsure
11% Disagree
Vaccines have mostly been a benefit to human health
69% Agree
20% Unsure
11% Disagree
August 7, 2025 at 5:52 PM
New study on scientific understanding in the US:
Vaccines have mostly been a benefit to human health
69% Agree
20% Unsure
11% Disagree
Vaccines have mostly been a benefit to human health
69% Agree
20% Unsure
11% Disagree