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Susan Butler-Wu

@sbtothedub.bsky.social

1.5K followers 390 following 14 posts

Clinical microbiologist. Opinions expressed are my own.

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Communication & Media Studies 26%

History 11%

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Susan Butler-Wu @sbtothedub.bsky.social · May 7

Add this awesome T-shirt to the huge multitude of reasons that I love the @pascv.bsky.social meeting!! Excited to be kicking off our Clinical Microbiology Boards review - let’s go!! 🦠 🧫 🍄 🪱 🧬 🔬

Susan Butler-Wu @sbtothedub.bsky.social · Apr 7

Are you taking a clinical microbiology boards exam soon? Or did before and just fancy a refresher on clinical micro? If so, there’s still time to register for our review course at @pascv.bsky.social - come for the course, and stay for the meeting! #beachn’bugs 🏝️ 🧫 🦠 🪱 🍄

Molecular Virology Workshop - Pan American Society for Clinical Virology

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Reposted by Rachel M. Gisselquist, Susan Butler

Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · Mar 11

I know this is going to sound naive or earnest, but I genuinely find myself shocked by how little people seem to be upset by the levels of corruption we're seeing. Is that the median voter assumes everyone is corrupt already? Or isn't actually getting stories about the corruption?

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Reposted by Wei Yang, Susan Butler

Katherine J. Wu @katherinejwu.com · Mar 7

if you've had an NIH grant terminated, I want to hear about it. Signal: katherinejwu.12

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Reposted by Susan Butler

Ilan Schwartz @germhuntermd.bsky.social · Mar 5

Our call to to resistance, led by @angelahuttner.bsky.social and first published in @cmicomms.bsky.social, now published in @cmijournal.bsky.social too

www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S119...

From medical editors: a call to the global infectious diseases and clinical microbiology community

The views expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) or Elsevier.

www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com

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Susan Butler-Wu @sbtothedub.bsky.social · Mar 5

He for sure thinks transgenic = transgender 🤯

Reposted by Peter Tillmann, Ghana, Susan Butler

WIRED @wired.com · Mar 4

SCOOP: Business leaders are paying as much as $5,000,000 to meet one-on-one with President Donald Trump at his Florida compound, sources tell WIRED, while others are paying $1,000,000 apiece to dine with him in a group setting.

People Are Paying Millions to Dine With Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago

Business leaders are paying as much as $5,000,000 to meet one-on-one with the president at his Florida compound, sources tell WIRED, while others are paying $1,000,000 apiece to dine with him in a…

buff.ly

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Reposted by Susan Butler

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation @egpaf.bsky.social · Feb 28

What happens when HIV services are terminated?

When mothers have access to treatment, their risk of transmitting HIV to their babies is less than 1%. Global health cannot wait!

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Reposted by Rachel A. Gordon, Susan Butler, Ina Ganguli

Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD @arghavansallesmd.medsky.social · Feb 28

Of the 4000 researchers at NIH, only 20% are tenured. They’re going to fire all the rest as their contracts come up for renewal, absolutely decimating research at the NIH. This is catastrophic, not just for Americans, but for the whole world.

www.science.org/content/arti...

NIH ban on renewing senior scientists adds to assaults on its in-house research

Policy follows firings of tenure-track scientists and suspension of training programs

www.science.org

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Reposted by Susan Butler

Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · Feb 28

Per Dr Atul Gawande, ex USAID: “All malaria supplies protecting 53 million people, mostly children, including bed nets, diagnostics, preventive drugs, and treatments – terminated.”

There are no words that sufficiently describe this level of cruelty and sadism.

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Reposted by Susan Butler

Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · Feb 27

Update: Hours after Musk asserted that USAID had "restored" Ebola prevention, the agency informed several organizations working with USAID on Ebola prevention that their contracts were being cancelled, two people tell me + @johnphudson.bsky.social.

One of those organizations was UNICEF.

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Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz, Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Lisa Larrimore Ouellette , and 2 more Tamara Dubowitz, Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Lisa Larrimore Ouellette, Susan Butler, Ted Temzelides

Sarah Karlin-Smith @sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social · Feb 26

Breaking: FDA's March meeting to select flu shot strains for 2025-2026 season has been canceled per email sent to committee members, a VRBPAC member told me. drug companies need about 6 months leeway to make shots in time for fall vax campaigns. #healthpolicy

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Reposted by Julie Leask, Micaël Castanheira, Susan Butler , and 2 more Julie Leask, Micaël Castanheira, Susan Butler, Emanuela Galasso, Owen Ozier

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Feb 26

Elon Musk: "We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect ... so for example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was ebola prevention."

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Reposted by Susan Butler

Infectious Diseases @infectiousdz.bsky.social · Feb 26

Ebola prevention doesn't mean that you go and buy an Ebola prevention kit.
Ebola doesn't arrive shouting it's name and saying it's me, it's Ebola.
What you support are healthcare systems with infection prevention and control that are open day in and day out, triaging and caring for patients.

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Reposted by Susan Butler

Tara C. Smith @aetiology.bsky.social · Feb 26

First #measles death in the US in a decade, due to the ongoing outbreak in Texas. No details yet on the patient. Predictably, our head of HHS is silent.

First measles death is reported in the West Texas outbreak that's infected more than 120 people

A person who was hospitalized has died from measles in West Texas. It's the first since the outbreak began late last month.

apnews.com

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Reposted by Susan Butler

Duncan MacCannell @drm.bsky.social · Feb 19

As you drive up Clifton Road towards CDC’s Roybal campus, there are often signs by the side of the road.

This past month, they have been focused on the importance of public health and the commitment of its staff.

I thought I would share a few of them here. #publichealth

Sign by the side of the road, with CDC in the background.

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Reposted by Susan Butler

D’Epitomee of 92% @epitomee.bsky.social · Feb 15

cc: @Gavin Newsome It’s time to build a CDC & NIH in California with the folks who were fired from the feds. In fact, I think each blue state governor needs to scoop up these scientists, healthcare workers and laboratory workers asap. @gavinnewsom.bsky.social

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Reposted by Hilary M. Babcock, Susan Butler

Eli Perencevich @eliowa.bsky.social · Feb 13

Who tracks surgical infections and sets guidelines for how to prevent your shiny new hip replacement from getting infected?

Who funds studies to determine the most cost-effective way to prevent your hip replacement from getting infected?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

“The CDC”

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Reposted by Susan Butler

pascv.bsky.social @pascv.bsky.social · Feb 12

In light of recent events, PASCV would like to reaffirm that we remain dedicated to maintaining a professional society that is open and inclusive, transparent in our decision-making, and resolute in the support of our members.

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Reposted by Susan Butler

Ilan Schwartz @germhuntermd.bsky.social · Feb 8

"The professors are the enemy"

- Chairman Mao Zedong

<Checks notes>

Ooops, scratch that,

it was JD Vance

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Reposted by Colin J. Bennett, Susan Butler

WIRED @wired.com · Feb 7

SCOOP: A US Treasury threat intelligence analysis has designated DOGE staff an ‘insider threat'. An internal email reviewed by WIRED calls DOGE staff's access to federal payments systems “the single biggest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”

A US Treasury Threat Intelligence Analysis Designates DOGE Staff as ‘Insider Threat’

An internal email reviewed by WIRED calls DOGE staff's access to federal payments systems “the single biggest insider threat risk the Bureau of the Fiscal Service has ever faced.”

wrd.cm

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Reposted by Susan Butler

WIRED @wired.com · Feb 7

It feels like no one should have to say this, and yet we are in a situation where it needs to be said, very loudly and clearly, before it’s too late to do anything about it: The United States is not a startup. If you run it like one, it will break.

🔗 www.wired.com/story/the-us...

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Reposted by Colin D. Butler, Susan Butler

BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · Feb 7

From USAID colleague, with permission to share. It's not just chaos it is devastation and tearing apart of families and communities. Not to talk of systems that kept us safe. This is just one story, multiple this by 10,000.
Is this really making America great?

Letter from colleague fired from USAID, sharing devastating impact and chaos that this has wrought on her life and family.

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Reposted by Susan Butler, Ricardo Rocha

Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · Feb 6

SCOOP: Cats that became infected with bird flu might have spread the virus to humans in the same household and vice versa, according to data that briefly appeared online in a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but then abruptly vanished.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/h...

CDC Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Transmission Between Cats and People (Gift Article)

The data, which appeared fleetingly online on Wednesday, confirmed transmission in two households. Scientists called on the agency to release the full report.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Susan Butler

Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD @arghavansallesmd.medsky.social · Dec 29

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, was reportedly arrested for refusing to abandon patients.

Photo of Dr. Safiya walking through rubble toward tanks, wearing his white coat

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Susan Butler-Wu @sbtothedub.bsky.social · Dec 9

Per CA PH, this most likely reflects detection of genomic material from consumption of milk, but they are continuing to investigate #H5N1

Reposted by Susan Butler

Erica @erohealthcomms.com · Dec 9

✅Please contact your senators to share your views.

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Reposted by Susan Butler

BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · Dec 5

Updates on disease X outbreak in DRC
"The unknown illness, has claimed 79 lives and infected 376 people in the Panzi district, appears airborne per health director, a rural area with high vulnerability due to 40% malnutrition and a recent typhoid outbreak.
healthpolicy-watch.news/drc-expects-...

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Susan Butler-Wu @sbtothedub.bsky.social · Dec 4

Wise words from Dr Riina Richardson on clinical lab testing #ISHAM24

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Susan Butler-Wu @sbtothedub.bsky.social · Dec 4

Dr John Perfect’s lecture on opportunistic fungal infections is 🔥 #ISHAM24