Szilard Fejer

I'm a theoretical chemist, working on self-assembly, colloidal molecules, and nanosensor design. I'm also the head of a diagnostics and research lab.

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

So if we are talking about #zoonosis in context of mpox, SARS-CoV-2, ebola etc, I guess we can talk about #moonosis for #H5N1.

[Michael Worobey @MichaelWorobey]

But it looks to me like a strong possiblity that this has been circulating in cattle for months under our noses, even before the first inkling there might be something new in February.

This reveals massive gaps in our pathogen surveillance and detection systems.

[Marc Johnson @SolidEvidence]

Cryptic (gain-of-function) lineage update.

There are currently 7 cryptic lineages in the US that I consider ‘active’.

This is a rundown.

Warning, I’m going into the weeds.

Nerds only.
1/
https://t.co/uskNzKCqAO

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@DrNeilStone raw chicken, no big deal. But raw lemon???? 😂

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@angie_rasmussen @profvrr It might seem like a battle that can't be won, but that does not mean it's useless! In fact, we would need a lot more scientists standing up against bs. Standing upright has its downsides, but it is worth in the long term. And you can sleep with no regrets, that's also important!

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@elonmusk Starshipping

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@KariByron There is a clever way for the opposite - identifying scraped material from diffusion models, called cyclic denoising: https://t.co/zsxpFWZzR3

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

Brilliant take on MAHA conspiracy theories and other bs! https://t.co/fwzqZih1wF

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@nexta_tv Filmed with a ... smartphone, I guess?

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@nexta_tv Chaos will hit only after the beer runs out.

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@RblSports @DrNeilStone @stkirsch Here's one for a start (me). According to your flawed logic, that can only mean that I don't exist.

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@RblSports @DrNeilStone @stkirsch Actually Leanne, about 85% of Americans believe in God. And God is still nowhere close to being real.

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@Friedemann1 Wow, that must be epigenetics at its best!

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@angie_rasmussen haha brilliant take! 😂

[Dr. Angela Rasmussen @angie_rasmussen]

Today’s episode of hantavirus stupidity: the ballmaxxers are coming

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@KrutikaKuppalli there appears to be NO evidence the #hantavirus had mutated *in a way that is not consistent with its expected mutation rate or in a way that would facilitate person to person spread*. You can't say hantavirus did not mutate, viruses mutate all the time.

[Dr. Angela Rasmussen @angie_rasmussen]

People tell me I'm funny but my first hit on @TheDailyShow is in full professional virologist mode talking about hantavirus "responsibly" according to @jonstewart.

Proud to represent @SaveAmericaMvm. This virus is less of a threat than the lost US capacity for outbreak response

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@barlow2021 @Fynnderella1 @quay_dr With all the lack of respect, you are an idiot.

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

@Fynnderella1 @quay_dr excuse me?? Asymptomatic people that test positive *are* infected, that's why they test positive duh.

[Szilard Fejer @sfejer]

Absolutely brilliant take on the current hantavirus situation and the US response to it!

[Dr. Angela Rasmussen @angie_rasmussen]

Looking for reliable news on the hantavirus outbreak? Stepping out of my vaccine conference to be on the @bbcworldservice radio in a few minutes to get into more detail.

I’ll be doing more updates like this with @SaveAmericaMvm so let me know what you think and ask me anything!

[Dr Steven Quay @quay_dr]

The 2026 hantavirus does not show major evolutionary jumps from previous Argentina infections and should act accordingly.

Some really nice work here by Emma Hodcroft, Univ Basal.

Unlike SARS-CoV-2, which is one 30,000 letter genome, Hantavirus has 3 separate segments of genetic material.

Why is that important?

For SARS2, the only way to get big junks of genetic material exchanged in a single step is to have 2 viruses in the same cell and then have the copying system make a cross over mistake.

With Hantavirus, if 2 different viruses infect the same cell it is very easy to package the 3 strands in all 8 combinations: AAA, AAB, ABA, BAA, ABB, BAB, BBA, BBB. (where A is one virus and B is the other virus)

Here Emma has looked at each of the 3 segments for the cruise ship virus and showed that each of the 3 segments is most closely similar to past viruses from Argentina and not past viruses from Chile.

Consequence of this information?

The current virus should act like recent Argentina hantaviruses and not represent a new, uncharted, combination of the 3 genome segments.

https://t.co/Uu730124hO

[Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus @DrTedros]

To the people of Tenerife,

My name is Tedros, and I serve as the Director-General of the @WHO, the @UN agency responsible for global public health. It is not common for me to write directly to the people of a single community, but today I feel it is not only appropriate, it is necessary.

I want to speak to you directly, not through press releases or technical briefings, but as one human being to another, because you deserve that.

I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word “outbreak” and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment.

But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID-19. the current public health risk from #hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now.
The virus aboard the MV Hondius is the Andes strain of hantavirus. It is serious. Three people have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families. The risk to you, living your daily life in Tenerife, is low. This is the WHO’s assessment, and we do not make it lightly.

Right now, there are no symptomatic passengers on board. A WHO expert is on that ship. Medical supplies are in place. Spain’s authorities have prepared a careful, step-by-step plan: passengers will be ferried ashore at the industrial port of Granadilla, far from residential areas, in sealed, guarded vehicles, through a completely cordoned-off corridor, and repatriated directly to their home countries. You will not encounter them. Your families will not encounter them.

I also want to say something else, something that goes beyond the science.

I personally thanked Prime Minister @sanchezcastejon for #Spain’s decision to receive this ship. I called it an act of solidarity and moral duty. Because that is what it is. I want you to know that the WHO’s request to Spain was not made arbitrarily. It was made in full accordance with the International Health Regulations, the legally binding framework that defines the rights and obligations of countries and the WHO when responding to public health events of international concern. Under those rules, the nearest port with sufficient medical capacity must be identified to ensure the safety and dignity of those on board. Tenerife met that standard. Spain honoured it. Nearly 150 people from 23 countries have been at sea for weeks, some of them grieving, all of them frightened, all of them longing for home. Tenerife has been chosen because it has the medical capacity, the infrastructure, and the humanity to help them reach safety.

And because I believe that so deeply, I will be there myself. I intend to travel to Tenerife to observe this operation firsthand, to stand alongside the health workers, port staff, and officials who are making it happen, and to personally pay my respects to an island that has responded to a difficult situation with grace, solidarity, and compassion. Your humanity deserves to be witnessed, not just acknowledged from a distance.
As I have said many times: viruses do not care about politics, and they do not respect borders. The best immunity any of us has is solidarity.

Tenerife is demonstrating that solidarity today. The ship’s captain, Jan Dobrogowski, crew and the company operating the vessel have shown exemplary collaboration at this challenging time. On behalf of the World Health Organization, and on behalf of those passengers and their families around the world, I thank the people of Tenerife and everyone else involved.

Please take care of yourselves and of each other. Trust in the preparations that have been made. And know that the WHO stands with you, and with every person on that ship, every step of the way.

With respect, care, and gratitude,
Tedros