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Meera Chand

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H-index: 63
Public Health 35%
Biology 27%
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

adamjkucharski.bsky.social
Got a number in mind?

A new pre-print by @lshtm.bsky.social colleagues surveyed 13,000 participants, and found it's about 9 per day in the current era.

It also looks at how social mixing varies with age, ethnicity and social economic status. Link to paper:
Post-pandemic social contact patterns in the United Kingdom: the Connect survey
Close-contact and respiratory infectious diseases are spread through social interactions, which were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and wider demographic and cultural changes. To estimate post-pand...
www.medrxiv.org
4 8 20

Reposted by: Meera Chand

nejm.org
Data on treatments for bubonic plague are limited. In this open-label, randomized, controlled trial in Madagascar, ciprofloxacin monotherapy was noninferior to a standard aminoglycoside–ciprofloxacin regimen. Full IMASOY trial results: nej.md/3Ugs0kx

#MedSky #IDSky
A figure showing the primary efficacy analyses in the trial populations.
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

resp-micro.bsky.social
Early notice of NEW Wellcome Conference -
AIR 2026: Genomic and Systems Approaches to Respiratory Infection, Microbiomes and Immunity 11th-13th February, sign up below for notifications

coursesandconferences.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/our-events/c...

It's immunulogy AND it's microbiology 🫁
Conferences
coursesandconferences.wellcomeconnectingscience.org
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

arambaut.bsky.social
Some great new features and updates from the awesome Pathoplexus project. This is a new open pathogen genome database that can provide access to your sequences under a use-restricted license but also feed directly in to INSDC (EBI, Genbank etc) when you are ready. pathoplexus.org/news/2025-07...
Pathoplexus | Pathoplexus July Update
Pathoplexus is a new, open-source database dedicated to the efficient sharing of human viral pathogen genomic data, fostering global collaboration and public health response.
pathoplexus.org
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

ecdc.europa.eu
🔗 Read more: bit.ly/4esZ0zr

▶️ Watch the explainer animation: youtu.be/DDNTOB8EsF8

#ECDC #GlobalHealth #HealthSecurity #Epidemiology #IDsky #EpiSky #Dengue #Chikungunya #Zika
New ECDC weekly reports and guidance to tackle mosquito-borne diseases across Europe
As Europe enters this year’s mosquito season, ECDC has launched a new series of weekly surveillance updates to help public health authorities monitor mosquito-borne diseases in a timely way, covering ...
bit.ly
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

globalvectorhub.bsky.social
📢 @who.int Risk evaluation of #Oropouche #virus and its reassortants 🪰 🦟

www.who.int/publications...
Risk evaluation of Oropouche virus and its reassortants
Risk Evaluation of Oropouche virus and its reassortants, 10 June 2025
www.who.int
2 6

Reposted by: Meera Chand

nejm.org
A new report describes the genetic epidemiology and antimicrobial-resistance patterns of a surge of cases of 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘩𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘦 infection that was identified in migrant populations in Europe. Read the full report: nej.md/3HEF3ZS

#MedSky #IDSky
Corynebacterium diphtheriae Outbreak in Migrant Populations in Europe | NEJM
A surge of cases of Corynebacterium diphtheriae infection was observed in reception centers for migrants in Europe beginning in the summer of 2022. Most of the cases were cutaneous, although some r...
nej.md
8 9

Reposted by: Meera Chand

kindrachukjason.bsky.social
Rolling clinical and epi updates for #mpox data from #SierraLeone. Watch for updated versions as additional data becomes available. Heartfelt thanks to our local colleagues in-country led by Dr. Jia Kangbai

t.co/D9QosVP1Bq
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.30.25328691v1
t.co
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

bacterioskeptic.bsky.social
Interested in pneumococci, genomics and metagenomics? Come and do a PhD with me, @alanmcn1.bsky.social and @meerac.bsky.social @ukhsa.bsky.social www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Leveraging genomics for improved metagenomic surveillance of Streptococcus pneumoniae at University of Birmingham on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Leveraging genomics for improved metagenomic surveillance of Streptococcus pneumoniae at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

kgandersen.bsky.social
Amazing work from our colleagues in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and elsewhere, making the first sequences available from the ongoing Mpox epidemic in Sierra Leone.

More to come - for now, head over to @pathoplexus.org:

pathoplexus.org/seqsets/PP_S...
Pathoplexus | SeqSets
Pathoplexus is a new, open-source database dedicated to the efficient sharing of human viral pathogen genomic data, fostering global collaboration and public health response.
pathoplexus.org
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

arambaut.bsky.social
A long thread about mpox and the context specific nature of outbreaks prompted by the large outbreak of MPXV Clade IIb happening at the moment in Sierra Leone:
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Reposted by: Meera Chand, Tanja Stadler

pathoplexus.org
📢Today Pathoplexus announces the inclusion of 2 new viral pathogens: RSV (A & B) and HMPV.

These respiratory viruses cause a serious health burden, particularly in infants & the vulnerable, & Pathoplexus aims to support sequence sharing to improve understanding & response.

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Screenshot of the homepage of Pathoplexus, showing tiles to navigate to the supported pathogens CCHF, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Zaire, HMPV, Mpox, RSV-A, RSV-B, and West Nile virus.
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

pathogenomenick.bsky.social
Absolutely thrilled to announce the launch of ARTIC2 - a £5.5M 5 year project funded by @wellcometrust.bsky.social to build on the ARTIC approach of low-cost, globally accessible genome sequencing for surveillance of outbreaks, epidemics and endemic diseases: www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2025/am...
Ambitious project to develop low-cost genome sequencing for pathogens known and unknown - University of Birmingham
Project will build on research that helped diagnostic labs to adopt sequencing capacity for COVID-19 and permit characterisation of future infectious threats
www.birmingham.ac.uk
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Reposted by: Meera Chand, Matthew J. Kuehnert

eurosurveillance.org
Check out our new issue with a study describing and comparing 🦟 Aedes-borne disease (#dengue #chikungunya and #Zika) incidence from 2017-2023, and the surveillance systems and response measures operating in France, Italy and Portugal in 2023

🗞️ bit.ly/EUS3015

#IDSky #EpiSky #MedSky #PublicHealth 🦠
Image showing the table of content of issue 15 in 2025 featuring the following articles: Surveillance Increased incidence of human leptospirosis and the effect of temperature and precipitation, the Netherlands, 2005 to 2023 Description and comparison of national surveillance systems and response measures for Aedes-borne diseases in France, Italy and Portugal: a benchmarking study, 2023 Research Seroprevalence of West Nile virus, Greece, 2020 Prevalence and risk factors for carriage of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in post-acute care hospitals, Israel, 2021 Letter Letter to the editor: Statistical methodology critique and alternative approaches in H5Nx avian influenza seroprevalence study among French cats Authors’ response: Statistical methodology critique and alternative approaches in H5Nx avian influenza seroprevalence study among French cats
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

marionkoopmans.bsky.social
Mpox Clade I emerged in 2023 in South Kivu and since has spread sustained through direct human to human contact. Controlling this outbreak has turned out to be a major challenge. Through embedded outbreak research coupled with a local capacity building program, we first....
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

ukhsa.bsky.social
We need the help of academics, health & policy professionals, and people with lived experience of tuberculosis (TB) to shape our next TB Action Plan. Together we can improve how we prevent, detect, and control TB. 🛡️
🗓️ Deadline: 2 May
🔗 www.gov.uk/government/n...
Dr Esther Robinson, Head of the TB Unit at UKHSA, said: "TB is curable and preventable, but the disease remains a serious public health issue in England. While England is still considered a low-incidence country for TB, the rise in cases over recent years means that we are now just below that threshold. This call for evidence will help us develop an action plan that prioritises the most effective interventions to reverse this trend, focusing particularly on the needs of those most affected."
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

marionkoopmans.bsky.social
Another arbovirus popping up in our enhanced surveillance pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40133068/ Not too surprising but a first for our country. No human disease noted, but first indication that we may need to start considering it. First step is to understand if this is a one off finding or not
Local Circulation of Sindbis Virus in Wild Birds and Horses, the Netherlands, 2021-2022 - PubMed
We report Sindbis virus circulation in the Netherlands based on serologic evidence found in 6 resident wild birds and 3 horses (2021-2022). Tested mosquitoes were molecularly negative, and humans were...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
1 11 17

Reposted by: Meera Chand

ukhsa.bsky.social
Today we have published our first annual report on infectious disease trends. 📊

The report brings together all the key data from 2023 to early 2025 and outlines the steps our organisation is taking to tackle these threats.

Read the full report 🔗🔽
www.gov.uk/government/p...
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

jbloomlab.bsky.social
In study led by @csimonich.bsky.social & Teagan McMahon, we quantify antigenic evolution of RSV F

Important because:

1️⃣ RSV top cause of infant hospitalization in USA

2️⃣ New antibodies & vax can prevent hospitalizations

3️⃣ Will virus evolution erode their efficacy?

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
RSV F evolution escapes some monoclonal antibodies but does not strongly erode neutralization by human polyclonal sera
Vaccines and monoclonal antibodies targeting the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) fusion protein (F) have recently begun to be widely used to protect infants and high-risk adults. Some other viral pr...
www.biorxiv.org
2 26 68

Reposted by: Meera Chand

peacockflu.bsky.social
Our analysis of the second incursion of H5N1 viruses (genotype D1.1) into dairy cattle in the US is now posted to virological virological.org/t/timing-and...
Timing and molecular characterisation of the transmission to cattle of H5N1 influenza A virus genotype D1.1, clade 2.3.4.4b
Jonathan E. Pekar, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK Thomas P. Peacock, The Pirbright Institute, Woking, UK, GU24 0NF; Department of Infectious Disease, Imper...
virological.org
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

Neuraminidase reassortment and oseltamivir resistance in clade 2.3.4.4b A(H5N1) viruses circulating among Canadian poultry, 2024
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Neuraminidase reassortment and oseltamivir resistance in clade 2.3.4.4b A(H5N1) viruses circulating among Canadian poultry, 2024
We report the detection of a clade 2.3.4.4b A(H5N1) reassortant virus with a neuraminidase surface protein derived from a North American lineage low-pathogenic avian influenza virus. This virus cau...
www.tandfonline.com
1 3

Reposted by: Meera Chand

drm.bsky.social
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
Notes from the Field: Seroprevalence of Highly ...
This report describes evidence of recent highly pathogenic avian influenza infection among three veterinary practitioners.
www.cdc.gov
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

peacockflu.bsky.social
Core-funded postdoc position at The Pirbright Institute, Surrey, UK (just outside London), in the group of Professor Ian Brown.
Working on H5N1 avian influenza virus evolution and development of cross-reactive vaccines.
www.pirbright.ac.uk/careers-and-...
Postdoctoral Scientist
The Pirbright Institute delivers world-leading research to understand, predict, detect, and respond to viral disease outbreaks. We study viruses of livestock that are endemic and exotic to the UK, inc...
www.pirbright.ac.uk
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Reposted by: Meera Chand, Tanja Stadler

arambaut.bsky.social
First genome sequence from the Ugandan Ebolavirus outbreak with analysis: virological.org/t/990 and first filovirus genome submitted to Pathoplexus database: pathoplexus.org/seq/PP_0011C.... Great (and rapid) work from the National Health Laboratory, UVRI and partners.
Near Real-Time Genomic Characterization of the 2025 Sudan Ebolavirus Outbreak in Uganda’s Index Case: Insights into Evolutionary Origins
Introduction Case History: On January 30, 2025, the Ministry of Health declared an outbreak of Sudan Ebola Virus (SUDV) Disease in Kampala, Uganda, following the death of a healthcare worker at Mula...
virological.org
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by Meera Chand

Great to be able to share this today - looking forward to working with partners all over the country for the next phase
pathogenomenick.bsky.social
Nick Loman @pathogenomenick.bsky.social · Jan 30
Our mSCAPE project has been formally announced to the world by @smhopkins.bsky.social at #FOG2025 today: www.gov.uk/government/n... - a really exciting academic-public health collaboration to build a surveillance platform leveraging NHS metagenomic diagnostic data. @meerac.bsky.social
UKHSA launches new metagenomic surveillance for health security
The UK launches mSCAPE, a world-first metagenomics initiative by UKHSA to enhance health security through rapid pathogen detection and surveillance.
www.gov.uk
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

pathogenomenick.bsky.social
Our mSCAPE project has been formally announced to the world by @smhopkins.bsky.social at #FOG2025 today: www.gov.uk/government/n... - a really exciting academic-public health collaboration to build a surveillance platform leveraging NHS metagenomic diagnostic data. @meerac.bsky.social
UKHSA launches new metagenomic surveillance for health security
The UK launches mSCAPE, a world-first metagenomics initiative by UKHSA to enhance health security through rapid pathogen detection and surveillance.
www.gov.uk
4 51 100

Reposted by: Meera Chand

kindrachukjason.bsky.social
Please see the risk evaluation guidance docs on Clade Ia and Clade Ib mpox from the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (www.who.int/groups/techn...)
- excellent work from a great group of colleagues

www.who.int/groups/techn...

#mpox #PHEIC 1/2
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
1 4 6

Reposted by: Meera Chand

amymaxmen.bsky.social
Since the USDA launched its Bird Flu milk testing strategy in December, 28 states have enrolled, representing nearly 65% of the nation’s milk production. And there's a dashboard.

This was a long time coming but an impressive start.
www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-po...
National Milk Testing Strategy | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
www.aphis.usda.gov
83 320

Reposted by: Meera Chand

adamjkucharski.bsky.social
Suppose a new flu pandemic were to emerge. How quickly could we get going with key epidemiological analysis and modelling?

To find out, I went back through the dozens of reports I was involved in for SPI-M for COVID and estimated where we currently stand: epiverse-trace.github.io/posts/covid-...
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Reposted by: Meera Chand

peacockflu.bsky.social
Really proud to share our preprint describing early adaptation of H5N1 to US dairy cattle, and showing how these mutations enhance the ability of the virus to infect other mammals, such as pigs and humans.

With @influenzal.bsky.social @vidhid.bsky.social @drclairesmith.bsky.social and many more!
Polymerase mutations underlie adaptation of H5N1 influenza virus to dairy cattle and other mammals.
In early 2024, an unprecedented outbreak of H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza was detected in dairy cattle in the USA. The epidemic remains uncontrolled, with spillbacks into poultry, wild birds...
www.biorxiv.org
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References

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