Introducing Outbreak Watch by Infectious Dose. When major outbreaks evolve quickly, Heather will occasionally release these extra episodes featuring timely updates and systems-focused analysis.

In this first Outbreak Watch episode, we examine the rapidly escalating Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC and Uganda alongside the continuing Andes hantavirus cluster linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship.

We break down the latest WHO numbers, why Ebola transmission is accelerating through conflict-affected mining corridors, what new genomic and geospatial analyses reveal about the outbreak’s spread, and why public-health responders are struggling to contain it amid violence and instability.

We also discuss the newest hantavirus cases emerging internationally weeks after passengers returned home, why the slow appearance of additional cases is expected for Andes virus, and how this cluster has already affected global biocontainment logistics.

Finally, we look at the U.S. decision to send exposed Americans to a quarantine facility in Kenya instead of bringing them home for monitoring and treatment — and what that reveals about confidence in domestic public-health systems.

Pathogens don’t create emergencies in isolation. They exploit the vulnerabilities we leave open for them.

A nurse in Louisiana receives an HIV diagnosis that doesn’t make sense.

No clear exposure. No obvious source. And eventually, investigators begin to suspect something far more disturbing.

In this episode of Outbreak After Dark, Heather and Kate explore the real case that brought forensic virology into the courtroom for the first time. Through genetic sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, scientists traced the relationships between viruses to help prosecutors build a criminal case against a physician accused of intentionally infecting his former partner.

How can a virus become evidence?

This is the story of the case that asked whether a virus could testify.

Topics include:

And because this is Outbreak After Dark, there’s also a menu:

All recipes and citations in the companion blog post at infectiousdose.com

Subscribe to the free weekly newsletter, Field Notes, to continue the conversation.

A new Ebola outbreak is unfolding in Central Africa — this time caused by Bundibugyo ebolavirus. As cases rise in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, fear and misinformation are spreading too.

In this episode, we break down:

This episode also explores the human side of Ebola outbreaks: caregiving, fear, stigma, survival, and the difficult realities faced by affected communities.

Companion blog post with transcript, references, outbreak updates, and photographs from the 1995 Kikwit outbreak: Infectious Dose

Subscribe to the free weekly newsletter, Field Notes, for outbreak updates and behind-the-scenes context.

Last week, the central question surrounding the MV Hondius outbreak was whether Andes virus was spreading person-to-person at all.

This week, the evidence shifted.

In Part 2 of Hantavirus on the High Seas, we revisit the major questions from last week’s episode and examine what new genomic data, case timelines, and public-health guidance now suggest about the outbreak. We break down what changed, what remains uncertain, and why the public conversation around “airborne” spread, “prolonged close contact,” and precautionary public-health measures became so messy in real time.

Topics include:

This episode is less about headlines and more about learning how scientific understanding evolves while an outbreak is still unfolding.

Subscribe to weekly Field Notes to continue the conversation

Companion blog post with annotated citations at infectiousdose.com

A hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship has triggered fear, speculation, and growing debate online about whether the virus could be spreading person-to-person.

But what do we actually know right now?

In this episode, Heather breaks down the current hantavirus cruise cluster through the lens of science communication and uncertainty. Rather than focusing only on the facts of the outbreak, this episode explores a bigger question:

What does trustworthy, imperfect outbreak communication sound like when the evidence is still coming in?

Topics include:

Heather also introduces a practical framework for understanding outbreak communication.

This episode is about resisting panic, avoiding false certainty, and rebuilding a clearer understanding of how science works when the story is still unfolding.

Heather will also be following the outbreak with updates in her free, weekly newsletter, Field Notes. Subscribe at the link if you want to join the conversation.

All citations in the companion blog post at infectiousdose.com

Imagine getting sick in the 1700s—before microbes were discovered, before antibiotics, and before infection had a clear cause.

In this Outbreak After Dark episode, we explore the strange, unsettling, and sometimes surprisingly insightful treatments used to fight disease in the pre-germ theory era. From bloodletting and mercury to tobacco smoke enemas and malariotherapy, these practices reflect a time when medicine was working without seeing the real enemy.

Along the way, we also uncover the rare moments when history got it almost right—and how those moments helped shape the science we trust today.

Don't forget to sign up for my free weekly newsletter Field Notes, to continue the conversation around each episode.

Transcript and annotated citations in companion blog post at infectiousdose.com 

There’s a virus you probably already have.

Epstein–Barr virus infects nearly 95% of adults worldwide. For many, it shows up once—fatigue, a sore throat, maybe a diagnosis of mononucleosis—and then disappears.

But EBV doesn’t disappear.

It stays, establishing lifelong infection inside B cells—the very cells responsible for immune memory. Most of the time, the immune system keeps it under control. But EBV is not passive. It shifts between latency and reactivation, adapts to immune pressure, and in some cases contributes to cancer and chronic disease.

In this episode, we explore:

This isn’t just a story about a virus. It’s a story about what happens when infection never truly ends.

Want to go deeper? Field Notes is my free, weekly newsletter where I expand on one key idea from each episode. It’s not a summary—it’s a shift in perspective. Subscribe here.

Annotated citations are in the companion blog post at infectiousdose.com

Murine typhus is a flea-borne bacterial infection that continues to circulate in parts of the United States, particularly in urban and suburban environments. But it’s often missed—because its symptoms are nonspecific, its rash may be subtle or absent, and it doesn’t fit the diagnostic patterns clinicians expect.

In this episode, we explore:

This is not just an episode about typhus—it’s about how recognition fails, and what that means for the diseases hiding in plain sight.

Also in this episode, introducing Field Notes, the new, free email newsletter companion to the episodes - not a recap, but what stays with Heather after the episodes. Issues are sent mid-morning after episodes drop.

Sign up on the website if you want to receive Field Notes. 

Companion blog post with transcript and all citations is at infectiousdose.com

One year in, Heather steps back to reflect on what this podcast has become—and what changed along the way.

What started as a focus on clear, accurate science grew into something more layered: an exploration of how trust, systems, and lived experience shape the way people understand infectious disease. It also opened the door to creative storytelling, immersive formats, and conversations that challenged her own assumptions.

This episode includes a few short clips from the past year—moments that capture the range of the show, from unsettling to unexpected to quietly funny.

If you want to keep following those threads a little further, Heather is starting a free, weekly companion called Field Notes—a place to sit with one idea from each episode and see where it leads. The first issue arrives with next week's episode. 

Whether you’ve been listening from the beginning or just found your way here, thank you so much for listening. We're glad you’re here.

Companion blog post at Infectiousdose.com

You’re about to step inside a BSL-4 lab.

Not a tour.

An experience.

You’ll move through clearance.

Inside, the work is methodical. Quiet. Precise.

And everything you think you know about these labs… starts to shift.

Put your headphones on.

More information and resources can be found at infectiousdose.com.