Infectious Dose

In this week's Outbreak Watch, we're examining the latest developments in the DRC Ebola outbreak, Pennsylvania's ongoing measles outbreak and a new development in the US H5N1 outbreak. Finally, we separate evidence from speculation surrounding reports of a possible laboratory-associated infection in Russia. Outbreak Watch is part of Infectious Dose, bringing you outbreak developments, epidemiological context, and the science behind the headlines. Find the full transcript, annotated sources, and additional resources at Infectious Dose.

The museum is closed. The exhibits aren't finished changing. In the first episode of Month of the Macabre 2026, a routine after-hours visit to a museum of infectious disease history takes an unexpected turn. Past the familiar scenes of Broad Street, the 1918 influenza pandemic, and SARS in Toronto, a new gallery has appeared: a modern train station displaying an outbreak that hasn't happened yet. Then the exhibit changes. And changes again The Collection is an immersive Infectious Dose audio story about infectious disease history, transmission, outbreak investigation, and what happens when knowing the future doesn't necessarily mean you can control it. 🎬 This week's #SickFlicks to accompany the episode: Annihilation (2018) and The Endless (2017)—two stories in which reality begins behaving according to unfamiliar rules, leaving the people inside to figure out what those rules mean. Check out the companion blog post for citations and transcript.  🎧 Headphones recommended.

It’s horror movie night, but Heather can’t stop seeing infectious disease in the monsters. Heather is joined by her friend Valerie to explore the real biology behind some of horror’s most enduring fears: tuberculosis and vampire lore, rabies and werewolves, zombies as outbreak epidemiology, neurological disease and possession, and the strange biology behind The Last of Us, The Thing, and Alien. Plus, Valerie plays the hilarious Horror Movie or Medical Literature? and discovers that when it comes to horror, evolution has had a considerable head start. So grab a drink, pick a movie, and remember the most important public-health lesson horror has apparently failed to teach us: stop hiding bites. Annotated citations and episode recipes available in the companion blog post. 

How do eight people get falciparum malaria in Germany when none of them traveled somewhere malaria is circulating? The answer may be that they didn't have to travel. The mosquito did. This episode follows the investigation into a cluster of malaria cases linked geographically or occupationally to Frankfurt Airport, including three deaths. We'll look at how an infected mosquito can carry malaria across continents, why airport malaria can be difficult to diagnose, what previous cases tell us about this rare phenomenon, and what investigators still don't know about the current outbreak. Find annotated citations and transcript in the companion blog post on the Infectious Dose website.

This week on Outbreak Watch, we’re tracking signs that Ebola transmission may be stopping in some parts of the DRC while continuing elsewhere; what still hasn’t happened with New World screwworm in the U.S.; Florida’s growing locally acquired dengue outbreak; an unusual increase in rabies exposures and preventive treatment; Pennsylvania’s four measles-associated deaths and request for CDC assistance; anthrax moving from wildlife into humans in Zambia; and a strange cluster of falciparum malaria cases near Frankfurt Airport. Plus: what should we actually watch for next to know when each of these situations has changed? Full citations, transcript, and other resources can be found in the companion blog post at the Infectious Dose website.