Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him)

Version 12. Added in June (pink), which contains a randomly chosen 42-day post-onset period from Case 2. As a guide. Added the new Dutch Case 12 - also from likely boat exposure. A few other things. 1⃣/2⃣

@FVE1234 He had little or perhaps no experuence working with PCR in a pathology setting. He was an academic in the early days of low throughput, slow, large volume gel-based PCR research and set-up. If those terms are new to you btw, you're out of your depth

@MackayIM So you don't think Mullis knew how PCR works? He invented it FFS. Surely he knew how it works AND how to misuse it. That's why he's dead.

"to test for that one and say that has any special meaning is what I think is the problem" -Mullis This shows a poor understanding of PCR specificity. Even back then. To *properly* design & validate HIV-1-specific primers (& probes now) meant you'd get HIV-1-specific results.

@KrutikaKuppalli @MinofHealthUG Where are these posted?

🚨 @MinofHealthUG has confirmed 2 additional #Ebola cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Uganda to 7. Particularly concerning is that these new cases are healthcare workers in Kampala and unclear if they cared for any of the other known cases. When health workers become infected, it raises concerns about healthcare-associated transmission, exposures in healthcare settings, and the potential for additional undetected contacts.

@MinofHealthUG @leone_256 Where do you post these updates?

@leone_256 Please desist from spreading fear. There is no lockdown. The public is encouraged to continue observing the SOPs and preventive measures to protect everyone from Ebola. #MOHatWork | #FightEbolaUG26

Anytime from now prepare for lock down

@uhruganda @MinofHealthUG @UKPC_UG @HRInews @HarmReduction @KPUganda @IDPCAsia @TASOUganda Where are these posted when released?

🚨 @MinofHealthUG has confirmed 2 additional #Ebola cases, bringing Uganda’s total confirmed cases to 7. Lets observe the standard operating procedures.

ZELENSKYY: We attack military targets in Russia, or their energy, which they sell to fund war. Russians deliberately target civilian objects: museums, schools, apartments. They destroyed this Chornobyl museum that we built for 40th anniversary just one month ago. Crazy assholes.

Daily Ebola update: - Cases: 1,018 (+8) - Deaths: 234 (+3)

🦠African Health Officials On Ebola: ‘This Is Too Much’ (Live Updates) The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday warned 11 African countries are now considered to be at risk amid an ongoing Ebola outbreak and World Health Organization officials called for international cooperation, cautioning “no single country can respond to this magnitude of outbreak alone.” MONDAY, MAY 25, 2026At a meeting of health leaders from across the continent, Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya warned, “This is too much. We cannot afford to have more Africans dying." WHO director general Tedros Ghebreyesus, who says he will personally travel to Congo on Tuesday, says the Ebola death toll has risen to 220 and warns “at the moment, the epidemic is outpacing us.”

Let's talk about the ridiculously oversimplified claim that #PCR can "detect one single molecule" virologydownunder.com/the-ridiculous…

@MackayIM This puts my whole life into perspective. And why my mom feigns being impressed with my career achievements!

@VignuzziLab 😂

I know, you've always wanted to know...

Have an SST as well. I guarantee it'll heal that hole in your soul. Or your money back!

Ebola can be transmitted through physical and intimate contact. Avoid contact in all forms. #MOHatWork | #FightEbolaUG26

🚨 #EbolaRDC | Rapport de situation au 24 mai 2026 L’épidémie d’Ebola demeure active dans les provinces de l’Ituri, du Nord-Kivu et du Sud-Kivu. 📊 101 cas confirmés ⚠️ 930 cas suspects cumulés 📍 11 zones de santé touchées 🏥 133 personnes hospitalisées en isolement 📞 Numéro vert officiel gratuit : 151 Les équipes de riposte poursuivent les activités de surveillance, de sensibilisation et de prise en charge dans les zones affectées. La vigilance collective reste essentielle pour limiter la propagation du virus. #StopEbola #PréventionEbola #SantéPublique

@AmeshAA Do they say anything about the backlog?

“Aid officials briefed on the lab say that it processes about 40 tests most days..1 day managed just 20 because officials ran out of fuel for the generator that powers it”—access to cheap energy (from fossil fuels) provides resiliency to infectious disease nytimes.com/2026/05/24/wor…

Establishing an efficient & effective end-to-end pathway for BDBV testing, from sample collection to reporting results (whether +ve or -ve) must be a key priority in response efforts. Many challenges, so also need contingency plans & mitigations for this being slower than hoped.

New Andes virus case in a quarantined person in Spain. Spain took the right approach- conservative monitored quarantine through the incubation period. Lax approaches involving home-based quarantine without adequate support or monitoring introduce unnecessary risk.

🔗archive.org/details/corpor… [aroudn 49min] 🔗 cepi.net/retroviruses 🔗pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41405828/ 🔗link.springer.com/article/10.100…

..specific PCR primers & probes are easily designed to target just the target(s) we want, excluding the rest. Mullis seems to have misunderstood the early application of a tool he'd been the key early developer of. It soon evolved beyond his expertise, despite his vision for it.

But as the rest of that sentence shows... ",not that PCR has been misused" Mullis continued to believe PCR did its job (as his papers and patents attest). He simply wasn't an expert at using it in a pathology laboratory setting.