Jake Dunning

High consequence infectious disease cases in the UK between 1962 and 2023 - the definitive list, described in our latest paper: microbiologyresearch.org/content/journa… #HCID @HPRUezi @PSIOxford @RoyalFreeNHS

Africa stood transparent from day zero of the recent #EbolaOutbreak. We declared the outbreak early, coordinated rapidly, and continuously informed the world. Global health security cannot succeed if countries are penalized for transparency during outbreaks. The answer to Ebola is not stigma or isolation but rapid investment in response capacity, stronger health systems, scientific collaboration, and solidarity with affected communities. ---- L'Afrique a fait preuve de transparence dès le premier jour de la récente épidémie d'Ebola. Nous avons rapidement signalé l'épidémie, coordonné nos efforts sans délai et tenu le monde entier informé en permanence. La sécurité sanitaire mondiale ne peut être assurée si les pays sont pénalisés pour leur transparence lors d'épidémies. La réponse à Ebola ne réside pas dans la stigmatisation ou l'isolement, mais dans des investissements rapides pour renforcer les capacités d'intervention, consolider les systèmes de santé, favoriser la collaboration scientifique et faire preuve de solidarité envers les communautés touchées. 🔗 Read the press release: ow.ly/Hvei50Z1tGG #AfricaResponds #HealthSecurity

Exclusive: Race begins to trial Ebola drugs amid current outbreak. @PSIOxford @AmandaRojek @ERGO_Horby nature.com/articles/d4158…

Thinking of the American medical missionaries who were taking care of patients in eastern Congo with Serge. 1 is confirmed to have Ebola, and 2 others with exposures but remain asymptomatic. This is undoubtedly a scary time for them. Please be thoughtful of what you say and post about them and their families. Hoping we can get them—and everyone with Ebola in the region—the medical care they deserve. serge.org/blog/american-…

@MarionKoopmans But at least it is one that can be addressed. Some of the other challenges are trickier to address.

The Ebola outbreak in DRC has some serious red flag warnings. See below. And very problematic: the most commonly used test platform in the region cannot pick up this strain. That is a big handicap.

@KrutikaKuppalli But the time since the alarm sounded, by detection of confirmed cases, differs for these two outbreaks by about 2 weeks, and countries, rich or poor, have a responsibility to look after their own citizens. These are not competing, they're different; both important, both deserving

It’s hard not to notice the contrast. A cruise ship outbreak affecting wealthy Western travelers dominates headlines, while a major #Ebola outbreak in #DRC that has killed dozens Awith cross-border spread and cases linked to major cities has received far less attention. Every outbreak matters. But global attention is often not distributed equally.

@arimoin @jw132 @HelenBranswell Is that different from the one mentioned in the WHO DON, which states it did not confirm at INRB and therefore is not a confirmed case?

@HelenBranswell is right to call this out. A confirmed #Ebola case in Kinshasa potentially changes the risk picture because it suggests the virus may have moved from a remote outbreak zone into one of the largest, most connected cities in Africa. Two reportedly unlinked confirmed cases in Kampala are also very concerning. The critical question now is whether these are isolated imported cases or evidence of local transmission in major urban centers. Those are very different scenarios. This does not mean containment has failed. But the window for getting ahead of this gets much narrower if there is any unrecognized urban transmission. Speed, diagnostics, contact tracing, and coordination matter even more now.

@HelenBranswell @KrutikaKuppalli It's a sensible provision in IHR, and an EC will still be convened subsequently anyway, so no loss of governance or oversight. Good to see response agility is improving; given the scale of the outbreak by the time it was identified, extraordinary rapid measures are needed, IMO

@KrutikaKuppalli You are correct, @KrutikaKuppalli. First time a PHEIC has been declared without consultation with an EC.

@HelenBranswell you may know better than me but I think this is the first time they have declared a PHEIC without convening the EC. It’s allowed for by the IHR but think it’s the first time used.

@RanuDhillon And don't forget specificity. A false +ve rate of e.g. 5% could have significant consequences for individuals & populations in a large outbreak if it means people who are not actually infected get admitted to a 'traditional' ETC & exposed to people who actually do have Ebola.

For outbreaks of Ebola viruses for which there’s no vaccine & unknown transmission chains, rapid tests, even with imperfect sensitivity, can achieve net benefit to control if they can be deployed widely & uncover more cases that may otherwise never be tested or only after delays (during which onward spread occurs) thelancet.com/journals/lanin…

@RanuDhillon If such a recommendation is made, I think there is also an obligation to do real-life studies to see whether it is necessary and whether the proposed mitigations work as intended/theorised.

Strict home quarantine is difficult to maintain In addition, with airborne transmission a factor, cleaning the air in homes is also important to prevent spread to household members (& conceivably through vents in multi-unit dwellings though not clear how long virus stays viable)

@celinegounder @PathogenScribe Big challenge is rapidly recruiting sufficient participants to get meaningful results. Of course, I'd never wish for a big or sustained outbreak, but if there is a larger, longer outbreak, we must not miss an opportunity to do trials that may reduce the impact of future outbreaks

@celinegounder @PathogenScribe Trial protocols have been written to reduce the impact of future Ebola & Marburg outbreaks in the countries & regions where they happen - no other reason. It's in the interest of those countries to prepare the trials & trial infrastructure in advance, to help their populations.

Congo’s New Ebola Outbreak Has No Vaccine, No Treatment, and Has Already Crossed a Border Bundibugyo ebolavirus confirmed in Congo and Uganda. The world has no approved countermeasures for it. Read & subscribe (for free!) celinegounder.com/p/ebola-bundib…

🚨🧪 Our UK Public Health Rapid Support Team has deployed a fully functioning mobile laboratory to one of the world’s most remote locations to support the hantavirus outbreak response. Read our blog post for the full story 🔗 ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2026/05/15/lab…

@moog77 @linseymarr @NinaScience And it may be that not every h2h transmission event is the same, influenced by factors affecting the infected case, the exposed individual, their interactions & behaviours, the setting, the environment etc. With few h2h tx events investigated, it's hard to know what 'typical' is.

@linseymarr @NinaScience Emma has done a thoughtful analysis on this. We can't ever know for sure what the mechanism is for close prolonged contact; inhalation, touch, fomite, sex. Be interesting to understand the magnitudes of doses involved. I suspect h2h inhalation is low. x.com/i/status/20545…

It's widely accepted that hantavirus transmits from rodent excreta to humans via inhalation of aerosolized virus, so I don't understand why we're so reluctant to acknowledge the inhalation route for human-to-human transmission. nytimes.com/2026/05/14/hea…

Thank you to all who joined the NETEC International Workshop 2026. Global partners came together to share lessons, strengthen collaboration, and advance preparedness for HCIDs. The work continues. #NETECIntlWorkshop #NETECGlobal

@jonsac @emmacpicken @MarinaPurkiss @JeremyVineOn5 Not the brightest, but probably a good fit for Channel Five & achieving some pseudo-balance on a panel. Despicable to blame the greatest victims of contemporary antisemitism for the rise in antisemitism; it's very revealing. And the nerve in calling others ignorant & stupid.

I know it was tough for you. I heard in the part before my segment that you said you haven't read any books for a few years, so to help your debating I'd suggest you start there. Try some on the history of Islam, the history of the Arab Israeli conflict, maybe the Quran, some general Holocaust education, etc. Then on Israeli politics, as you had the beginnings of an interest in Benjamin Netanyahu, maybe just some contemporary news coverage of Israeli politics. Also, maybe try a primer on the laws of war, general military history, and some on the wars Israel has engaged in since its foundation.

I found this whole exchange appalling to be honest… I don’t know how to debate this Genuinely Rude, dismissive, and unable to acknowledge any role that the actions of the Israeli government plays in fanning antisemitism.

From a mayoralty that constantly pretends everyone gets along just fine in London & tolerates so much antisemitism under the guise of a right to protest. It's like handing out fire extinguishers to Jewish people while ignoring those who set the fires & the many who provide fuel.

@Nick_Wellings Commenting on cherry picked, selective, partial quotations that do not represent the overall positions of groups, societies & colleges, or views of their members, contributes little to the debate or to finding a solution (& the same could be said about posting that lazy table).

@OutbreakJake And now can you comment on the image I posted about nearly every professional Org raising concerns?

Shameful filibustering by unelected representatives. Many of these people, especially the band of 7, are abusing their privilege, using safeguarding concerns as a smoke screen. That's biased, unfair, undemocratic, & cruel. Urgent reform of HoL is essential theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

@missdaisyfdoo It's sad to see that some of the professional societies & colleges, while expressing concerns about AD on the one hand, fail to address the issue of the ongoing suffering & removal of autonomy from many who are terminally ill, who have capacity & who want AD. It's an abandonment.

@missdaisyfdoo Some who scuppered the bill & will always oppose AD turn a blind eye to many terminally ill people who suffer or stand to suffer terribly despite palliative care & who want AD, falsely suggesting PC always works & is acceptable to all & telling people what their 'good death' is.

If you understand the Assisted Dying Bill to be dangerous & coercive for vulnerable people, but you don’t understand that NOT passing the Bill perpetuates a situation for terminally ill people - who are vulnerable - that is dangerous & coercive, you have not understood at all.