Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare but fatal side effect of #measles infection, which manifests years after a kid recovers. This story of a family who lost a 10-year old to it is heartbreaking. Renae was too young to be vaccinated when she caught measles. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/o...
This is my favorite climate change chart. Japanese monks, aristocrats, and emperors kept meticulous records of cherry blossom festivals for 1,200 years and accidentally built the world's longest climate dataset.
Despite being preventable & curable, #TB remains a leading cause of illness & death among young people living with #HIV.
📰 A new #WorldTBDay viewpoint in the Journal of the International AIDS Society calls for urgent action on the TB-HIV syndemic in adolescents & young adults.
#RethinkRebuildRise
On #WorldTBDay, MSF urges governments and donors to put children at the heart of the global TB response. Sustained funding is needed to diagnose, treat, and prevent TB in children, who remain one of the most vulnerable groups.
msfaccess.org/msf-demands-...
"Her stepmother, Ashley Skjerva, told ABC News that Makayla was vaccinated against measles but, because she is immunocompromised, it left her at high risk for infection and serious complications."
“In 2025, the U.S. had the largest number of #measles cases in 33 years, with more than 1,828 cases and counting. But even though California is the most populous state, just 22 people developed the disease this year, with no local outbreaks reported.” #SB277
www.sfgate.com/bayarea/arti...
Would add:
- Mobile X-rays
- PPD / #TB skin testing
- Foundational work behind inactivated polio vaccines
- Polio rehabilitation
- Classification of streptococci
- Identification of the structure of penicillin
- Co-discovery of HIV as the cause of AIDS
#IDsky
FY27 #TBHillDay asks converted from USD to how long the war with Iran takes to spend that much:
- 1 day for global bilateral TB efforts
- 36 hours for the Global Fund
- 5.5 hours for CDC’s Division of TB Elimination
- 30 minutes for CDC’s Division of Global HIV and TB
- 7 weeks for NIH
A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.
“.. He cared about people deeply ..,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong ..”
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...
My quote of the day
Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.
Thurgood Marshall
“I am in Birmingham because injustice is here…..Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
- MLK, Letter from Birmingham Jail
“The convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the proliferation of drug-resistant TB strains, entrenched socioeconomic determinants, and significant funding deficits have culminated in a critical juncture that threatens to erode decades of hard-won progress [against #TB].”
Very much along the same lines as what he proposed in Samoa. He saw an “opportunity.”
We’re so proud of the incredible immunization advocacy work Deb continues to lead. Grateful for her years of dedication as an IIC board member and partner! www.wfyi.org/news/article...
"It's important not to lose track of what is behind the numbers. Sometimes we talk about numbers. Oh, this is an increase in mortality, a percent increase. What is a percent? It's a human. It's a child. It could be your child. It could be my child."
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
A powerful feature of this year’s #UnionConf was the inclusion of four authors breathing new life into TB advocacy.
📘Stigmatized, Handaa Enkh-Amgalan
📙Phantom Plague, @vidyakrishnan.bsky.social
📗The Black Angels, @mariasmilios.bsky.social
📕Everything is Tuberculosis, @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social
i spent a little while going through the AIDS quilt and picked out a few panels that stuck out to me for one reason or another. may the memories of all these beautiful, far too young souls be a blessing.
“It is in literature that I find everything that is missing in our policies – inspiration, intuition, and courage to imagine a new world.” – @vidyakrishnan.bsky.social
#TBSky
The “Why, why, why” of tuberculosis – Why storytelling is integral to the fight against TB
@leslieenane.bsky.social on why, in dark times, "there is real light, humanity, and community in sharing powerful stories"
speakingofmedicine.plos.org/2025/12/01/t... via @plosglobalpublichealth.org
- A Fever in the Heartland, by Timothy Egan
- King Leopold’s Ghost, by Adam Hochschild
“I’m astounded that my body lasted this long, and I am thankful to still be around,” she told The Guardian. “Yes, life is a complete dumpster fire, but I am reminded that I am not alone, that I am in this with many others.”
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
It doesnt stop there. Did you know "zombies" are an African creation?
Zombie comes from the Haitian creole "zanbi," which itself comes from the Kikongo word "nzambi" that translates to "spirit of a dead person.'
It embodied the spirit of haitian slavery. Body is alive, the soul is not
short🧵
Excellent reporting by @stephanienolen.bsky.social on the resurgence of #Diphteria in displaced populations, with a focus on #Somalia. The resurgence of this infectious disease is happening globally due to declining vaccination rates.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/h...
"An AP investigation found that the wave of legislation has cropped up in most states, pushed by people with close ties to HHS Secretary RFK, Jr. The effort would strip away protections that have been built over a century and are integral to American lives and society."
I reported recently from Somalia, as part of our ongoing effort to document the effect of the major cuts to U.S. foreign assistance.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/h...
Eighty-five percent of parents said they trust their child’s pediatrician on vaccine information — a level of confidence that cuts across political divides, including among MAGA Republicans, according to a Washington Post-KFF poll.
Blog with CGD colleagues: Cholera in Africa: Rising Deaths, Shrinking US Aid.
Africa seeing rising cholera deaths, but US foreign assistance not responding...
Sharing the story of our “JC-palooza” as our peds ID and global health section threw him a surprise party.
When they say “look for the helpers” in difficult times, one of those best humans to look towards is JC.
