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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 19h

The John Snow Society
@johnsnowsociety.bsky.social
· now
Recommended listen🔊: Public Health Disrupted podcast with Professor Rochelle Burgess and Dr Carrie Ryan - Ageing Playfully.

#Blackhistorymonth2025 #ageing #epidemiology

Ageing Playfully: Transforming perspectives on growing older

Podcast Episode · Public Health Disrupted · 25/09/2025 · 43m

podcasts.apple.com

Reposted by The John Snow Society

Rein Houben @reinhouben.bsky.social · 1d

In a new preprint (NOT PEER REVIEWED) we continue to explore the challenge of overtreatment in community screening. It seems the benefits of TB treatment far outweigh the harms, especially once we accept that sputum culture is not perfect. Important food for thought. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Do no harm - re-evaluating the risks of overtreatment in community-wide tuberculosis screening

Background Community-wide screening is a crucial strategy to end tuberculosis (TB), but a common concern is potential harm from overtreatment following false positive diagnoses. However, current refer...

www.medrxiv.org

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 1d

TODAY is the #PumphandleLecture at 5.30pm in the John Snow Theatre and online at the @LSHTM
Keynote by Professor Cesar Victora:
"From local insights to global impact: Four decades of child health and nutrition epidemiology in Pelotas, Brazil"
johnsnowsociety.org/2025/10/03/2...

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 2d

Tomorrow is the Society #PumphandleLecture in the John Snow Lecture Theatre @lshtm.bsky.social.
Dr Cesar Victora will give the keynote:
"From local insights to global impact: Four decades of child health and nutrition epidemiology in Pelotas, Brazil"
Details here 👇🏼:

Pumphandle Lecture 2025: Dr Cesar Victora | LSHTM

The John Snow Society Annual Pumphandle Lecture of this year will be given by Dr Cesar Victora, Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology at the Federal University of Pelotas (Brazil), entitled "From local

www.lshtm.ac.uk

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 5d

Potential association between spread of LED lighting and reduced lunar alignment with menstrual cycles. @science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#publichealth #epidemiology

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 6d

Happy #Blackhistorymonth2025 (GB)!
We'll be signposting to outputs of many many excellent #publichealth researchers, exhibitions and cool health history pieces during October.

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 7d

Oversimplified efforts to counter health misinformation are missing the mark.
www.bmj.com/content/388/...

The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 8d

Covid-19 inadvertently raises the profile of #epidemiology as an important discipline - to understand and contain viral spread, but also to combat #misinformation - infographic by
@WHO
#publichealth

Let’s flatten the infodemic curve

We are all being exposed to a huge amount of COVID-19 information on a daily basis, and not all of it is reliable. Here are some tips for telling the difference and stopping the spread of…

www.who.int

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 9d

Ibn al-Nafis a 13th century Arab polymath of the Islamic Golden Age and his contributions to #epidemiology.

Great Monday read:
www.emro.who.int/emhj-volume-...

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Reposted by The John Snow Society

UK Health Security Agency @ukhsa.bsky.social · 12d

Noticing lots of cold symptoms and cases of the sniffles? 🤧 We're seeing a sharp increase in rhinovirus, which causes the common cold, as shown in our latest weekly data. This isn't unexpected for this time of year when kids go back to school and mixing increases.

Line graph showing weekly percentage of positive tests for flu, COVID-19, RSV and rhinovirus in England from October 2024 to September 2025. Rhinovirus rises sharply this September; COVID-19 and flu increase more slowly; RSV is the lowest on the chart.

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 14d

Health misinformation on social media could lead to a 'sicker UK' experts warn.
#Misinformtion #PublicHealth

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/health-misinformation-social-media-london-school-hygiene-b2826764.html

Health misinformation on social media could lead to a ‘sicker UK’, experts warn

Experts at The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine are calling for universities, health organisations, charities to join a new network aimed at fighting misinformation

www.independent.co.uk

The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 15d

Paper by Kristin Gustavson et al 2021 shows value of sibling controls and confounding in #epidemiology -
No evidence for link between tylenol and ADHD
acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

#Trump #tylenol #autism #adhd

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 15d

A key approach used to address anti-vaccination #misinformation in the USA was leafletting and pamphlets, particularly in rural areas.
Below detail from from a 1930 USA government brochure.

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 16d

An 1803 cartoon by satirist James Gillray shows Edward Jenner vaccinating a patient with a sharp lancet.

Other recent vaccinees display various side effects including sprouting horns or turning into cows.

#Misinformation #PublicHealth

The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 19d

The Boxing Day cholera riot in 1831 Aberdeen is a perfect historical example of the dangers of pandemic-related #misinformation. Many suspected "Burke and Hare" style body snatching on the part of medics.
Many cholera riots occurred in Europe (detail from Russia in LePetit)
(FBF post - JSS on X)

The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 20d

By the early 1900s smallpox vaccination averted many child deaths in the UK. 🦠📉
BUT - invasive vaccination methods + poor sterilisation led to intense backlash.
The anti-vax movement spread to Americas and Europe.

#PublicHealth #Misinformation

1900s anti-vax poster - France

The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 21d

The UK government made vaccination mandatory in 1853, directly precipitating the organised 'anti-vax' movement. Opposition came on many grounds - including religious, political or ideological concerns.
#PublicHealth #Misinformation
1900s UK cartoon poking fun at vaccination and 'quack' cures.

The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 23d

Look out for our additional upcoming posts on the history of #Publichealth #Misinformation🧐📊📰🦠

Also, if you can, check out the below event TONIGHT
*Misinformation UNPACKED* - some online tickets are still available!
bsky.app/profile/lsht...

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 23d

Edwin Chadwick's 1842 "Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain" was initially prompted by the high rates of cholera in poor UK households.

His cholera dot map illustrated the overlap between cholera and poverty in Leeds.
#cholera #poverty

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 23d

Japan sets a new record of nearly 100,000 people aged over 100 - and 88% are women.

Mainly attributed to active lifestyles, and a diet high in fish and vegetables.

New centenarians are celebrated with a national holiday today (15th), aka "Elder Day" 👴 👵

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 26d

In 25 days time.....
#2025PumphandleLecture

Find out more:

Pumphandle Lecture 2025: Dr Cesar Victora | LSHTM

The John Snow Society Annual Pumphandle Lecture of this year will be given by Dr Cesar Victora, Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology at the Federal University of Pelotas (Brazil), entitled "From local

www.lshtm.ac.uk

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · 27d

New tool to combat misinformation: Speak with an AI chatbot.
New paper out in Science magazine @science.org

Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI

Conspiracy theory beliefs are notoriously persistent. Influential hypotheses propose that they fulfill important psychological needs, thus resisting counterevidence. Yet previous failures in…

www.science.org

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · Aug 27

A well researched summary of the evidence for Florence Nightingale's voluntary secondment to Middlesex Hospital during the 1854 cholera outbreak:

johnsnow.matrix.msu.edu/documentUplo...

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · Aug 8

Accuracy in the vein of John Snow MD

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The John Snow Society @johnsnowsociety.bsky.social · Aug 7

📢The 2025 Pumphandle Lecture will be given by:

Dr Cesar Victora, Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology at Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil!!

"From Local Insights to Global Impact: Four Decades of Child Health and Nutrition Epidemiology in Pelotas, Brazil."

More information to come.

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