Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him)

This account is now mainly for lurking.
X toxicity and anger are a suckful vibe.
Find me on BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon, LinkedIn.

Facts exist.

🦠🤧🧬📑🧀🦟

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

Version Hantavirus infographic #13 [13 cases as well].
A new @news.abc.net.au story hints that quarantine (at least in Aus) has been based on the disembarkation date (completed May 11). I've added that in as an orange-shaded box.
Anything unclear?

[Ministry of Health- Uganda @MinofHealthUG]

Current update on #Ebola in #Uganda
The 6 new cases were confirmed among contacts to confirmed cases.

#MOHatWork | #FightEbolaUG26

[Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @HelenBranswell]

Even with a case count that was revised down with the testing of samples from suspected cases, this #Ebola outbreak is already huge. DRC reports that as of 6/1, there were 633 confirmed & suspected cases. 23 new positives were recorded yesterday. https://t.co/YlkeTKKHuZ

[Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @HelenBranswell]

The main claim — that the US recommends that all kids are vaccinated against many more pathogens than children in peer nations is not true. I did an analysis of 37 other countries. The US is not an outlier. https://t.co/xIxtTJCJAR

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

New graph of positives in the previous 24-hour period, from INSP SitReps
The last day we had <10 new cases was the 22MAY.
I think, despite some noise about the slashing of figures a few days ago being great news, it would be dangerous to turn away from this outbreak for some time

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

"WHO's previous figures had also listed 223 deaths suspected of being due to Ebola virus but its new figures no longer include that category"

"Lindmeier suggested the number had been very uncertain, since it included "people who died a while ago"
https://t.co/BTfaGtxBZD

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

@SustainKohala Oh. They will provide instructions for use and training to purchasers, for certain. Just having nothing in public is annoying

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

One PCR test in the DRC labs is a rapid test from KH Medical in South Korea, relying on the RADIONE extraction & amplification device (1 or 4-sample versions; 60min to result). It uses a range of their kits.
🧬 https://t.co/yYRQXybTRt
🧬 https://t.co/lqi05rga0F

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

General numbers are below..

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

SitRep #18 from INSP, DRC
-all samples collected were analysed! Nice work.
23 (30.3%) were positive.
https://t.co/zD5bmxaS4x

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

With the *cumulative* numbers for suspected #Bundibugyo virus disease samples coming into the lab for testing, samples analysed and testing positive seemingly no longer reported in these SitReps - just the daily results - the lab data look like this.

[Germany UN Geneva 🇩🇪🇪🇺 @GermanyUNGeneva]

Germany is providing an additional €2 million to @WHO to help stop Ebola.

The funding will deliver medicines, protective equipment and essential medical supplies to people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surroundings & will help protect frontline healthcare workers.

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

☣️ The sample needs to be pipetted by hand into the extraction tube (not fully automated), as far as I can see.
Example of an MPOX run's result interpretation matrix below; should be a similar layout for the Ebola kit's results.

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

🗓️12 month shelf-life
📦Each kit comes with 24x 4-well strips (1/4 is the specimen, 1/4 is the IC, 1/4 is a negative control (NTC), & 1/4 may be a calibrator - AI answer, so very unclear)
🔬 Kit includes an internal control (IC; GAPDH detected in the human sample; own channel)

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

@NoahHull_PhD As a previous lab supervisor/manager (depending on who you talk to!) - trying to whittle down a product to investigate further from among several similar products meant having to speak to each of the reps to get the deets. Usually lovely people, but the TIME spent on that alone..

[Noah Hull, PhD, MPH @NoahHull_PhD]

So it isn't just the kit with the reagents; you also have to buy their instrument to run it. This is meant to be more of a point-of-care test (they care it near-patient) than a high-complexity test. If it were a reagent, there would be fewer worries about the supply chain. But since I have to purchase this machine as well, how many do they have in stock, how quickly can they make them, that will be an issue.

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

@NoahHull_PhD So many diagnostics companies play this "hide the IFU" game, and it shits me to tears. It's old-fashioned data hoarding

[Ian M Mackay, PhD (he/him) @MackayIM]

@NoahHull_PhD Well I'll be. I hadn't realised the Ebola kit worked in that. Thx. How many samples at a time per instrument?