Emma Thomson

Emma Thomson

@emcat1.bsky.social

I am clinical professor of infectious diseases at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research and professor of emerging viruses at LSHTM. I study emerging viruses in Uganda and the UK.

320 followers474 following14 posts

NGS isn’t cheap—but for public health intelligence + surveillance in LMICs, it’s incredibly powerful. This approach reveals what’s circulating, not just what we’re looking for.

Common respiratory + GI viruses were also picked up in serum—rhinovirus, enterovirus, rotavirus. Suggests that viraemia may play a role in systemic illness, especially in children.

We used agnostic + targeted sequencing to uncover viral causes of acute febrile illness (AFI) where standard diagnostics fail. This isn’t likely to be cost-effective for individual diagnosis—but it’s vital for understanding transmission + emergence at a population level.

We detected VHF viruses including CCHFV in patients who’d never have been tested. Silent transmission, undetected by routine surveillance. The CCHFV work has now seeded an international partnership to investigate prevalence in ticks, livestock & humans across Uganda.

Emma Thomson reposted

Today is the 5-year anniversary of the first #COVID19 lockdown in UK. Really important to reflect on lessons we have (or haven't) learnt, as the threat of another pandemic is higher than ever. Glad that @emcat1.bsky.social & I could contribute to this.👇 www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

theguardian.comTen lockdown lessons to learn for next timeFive years since Boris Johnson ordered the UK to stay home, steps to prepare for the next national emergency are clearer

Emma Thomson reposted

NIH appears to have canceled/postponed all of its study sections—the independent review panels that approve federal grants for health research. Such grants fund the work/salaries of 300k people at more than 2,500 institutions

Jane Liebschutz, MD MPH (she/her)@liebschutz.bsky.social

All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.

Emma Thomson reposted

Replying to @pasteur.fr

L’Institut Pasteur décide de quitter X (ex-Twitter) pour rejoindre BlueSky ! 🦋 L’Institut Pasteur a pris cette décision en raison de plusieurs dérives graves constatées sur la plateforme X depuis son rachat. Rejoignez-nous pour continuer à défendre la science ! www.pasteur.fr/fr/espace-pr...

pasteur.frL’Institut Pasteur a décidé de quitter XL’Institut Pasteur, organisme de recherche engagé depuis plus de 130 ans dans la lutte contre les maladies infectieuses, le partage des connaissances et la défense de la science, a décidé de quitter l...

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Emma Thomson reposted

Poignant frontline perspective of a #Rwandan physician responding to the recent #marburg outbreak. It is well worth a read. We are are two weeks into the 42 day countdown to declaring the outbreak over🤞🏾. These brave HCPs kept us safe. #medsky #idsky 🧪 www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

nejm.orgFight or Flight — Facing the Marburg Outbreak in Rwanda | NEJMHaving diagnosed two ICU patients with the first known cases of Marburg virus disease in Rwanda, a physician must prioritize limiting spread, despite pleas for transfer from the patients’ families.

Emma Thomson reposted

The US joins the list of countries that has detected clade Ib #mpox. A person who recently traveled from eastern Africa was diagnosed with the disease in San Mateo County, California. Sounds like a mild case. My story: www.statnews.com/2024/11/16/m...

statnews.comFirst U.S. case of new mpox strain detected in CaliforniaCalifornia has detected the country’s first case of a new mpox strain in a person who recently traveled from Eastern Africa

Emma Thomson reposted

Update on the teenager with #H5N1 #birdflu in British Columbia: Canada's national lab confirms it is H5N1 virus. It is a version of the virus that is slightly different than the one in cows in the US. This version is one found in wild birds. www.canada.ca/en/public-he...

canada.caStatement from the Public Health Agency of Canada: Update on Avian Influenza and Risk to CanadiansThe Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) today confirmed a human case of avian influenza (also known as bird flu) caused by influenza A(H5N1) virus in Canada.

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