In this episode of viroLOGICAL, Florian Krammer explains the Marburg virus, a filovirus closely related to Ebola that causes severe hemorrhagic fever. He discusses how the virus is structured, how it enters cells, how it is transmitted from animals and between humans, and why infection is associated with very high mortality. The episode also covers the typical course of the disease, historical outbreaks from Europe to Africa, the role of bats as a natural reservoir, and why—despite its severity—Marburg virus is unlikely to cause a pandemic due to limited human-to-human transmission.

Washington Post article about bats and Marburg virus in caves in Uganda: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/12/13/feature/these-bats-carry-the-lethal-marburg-virus-and-scientists-are-tracking-them-to-try-to-stop-its-spread/

Article about a US tourist who got infected in one of the bat caves: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/ebola/american-traveler-survived-marburg-fever-cdc-says

Nature article about animals feeding on Marburg virus infected bats: https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-025-00221-2

US CDC information about Marburg virus: https://www.cdc.gov/marburg/about/index.html

Video of bats and snakes in a cave in Uganda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw_sHKXtBZs

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Krammer laboratory information

Krammer Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness

Ignaz Semmelweis Institute

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Conflict of interest statement

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has filed patent applications relating to influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics, SARS-CoV-2 serological assays and NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines which name me as inventor. Mount Sinai has spun out a company, CastleVax, to commercialize NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and I am named as co-founder and scientific advisory board member of that company.

I have previously consulted for Curevac, Merck, Gritstone, Sanofi, Seqirus, GSK and Pfizer and I am currently consulting for 3rd Rock Ventures (US) and Avimex (Mexico).

My laboratory has been collaborating in the past with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2 and with GlaxoSmithKline and VIR on the development of influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics and we are currently collaborating with Dynavax, Inspirevax and Inimmune on development of influenza virus vaccines.

My work in the on immunity and infectious diseases in the US is supported by the National Institutes of Health, but also by FluLab and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. In the past I have also received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH and the US Department of Defense.

My work in Austria is supported by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft and by the Ignaz Semmelweis Institute through the Medical University of Vienna.

This time it's not about a virus, but about one of the most exciting developments in modern medicine: therapeutic cancer vaccines based on mRNA. Florian Krammer explains the basic principle — how a patient's tumor is sequenced, how the mutated genes (so-called neoantigens) are turned into a personalized vaccine, and how that vaccine trains the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Two recent trials show just how promising the approach is: a BioNTech vaccine against the notoriously aggressive pancreatic cancer, and a Moderna/Merck vaccine against melanoma, which now has five-year data. The vaccines aren't on the market yet and remain expensive to produce, but the direction is clear.

Links to the original and follow up publications for the pancreatic cancer vaccine:

Links to the original and follow up publications for the melanoma vaccine (unfortunately partially behind paywalls):

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Krammer laboratory information

Krammer Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness

Ignaz Semmelweis Institute

+++++

Conflict of interest statement

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has filed patent applications relating to influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics, SARS-CoV-2 serological assays and NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines which name me as inventor. Mount Sinai has spun out a company, CastleVax, to commercialize NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and I am named as co-founder and scientific advisory board member of that company.

I have previously consulted for Curevac, Merck, Gritstone, Sanofi, Seqirus, GSK and Pfizer and I am currently consulting for 3rd Rock Ventures (US) and Avimex (Mexico).

My laboratory has been collaborating in the past with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2 and with GlaxoSmithKline and VIR on the development of influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics and we are currently collaborating with Dynavax, Inspirevax and Inimmune on development of influenza virus vaccines.

My work in the on immunity and infectious diseases in the US is supported by the National Institutes of Health, but also by FluLab and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. In the past I have also received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH and the US Department of Defense.

My work in Austria is supported by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft and by the Ignaz Semmelweis Institute through the Medical University of Vienna.

A new tick-borne virus has just been detected in Austria for the first time and antibodies found in two people suggest it can infect humans here too. Florian Krammer explains what makes the Alongshan virus so unusual: it belongs to the Jingmen viruses, a group of segmented flaviviruses that are built almost like a hybrid between a flavivirus and an influenza virus. The episode traces how the virus was first discovered in China in 2019, how it has since turned up in ticks across Europe — from Finland to Switzerland, France, Germany and now Austria and what a recent study from the Medical University of Vienna actually found. The takeaway: a fascinating, strange virus with many open questions, but not a cause for concern for now.

Scientific article about Alongshan virus in Inner Mongolia: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1805068

Scientific article about recent Alongshan virus detection in Austria: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(26)00059-5/fulltext

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Krammer laboratory information

Krammer Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness

Ignaz Semmelweis Institute

+++++

Conflict of interest statement

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has filed patent applications relating to influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics, SARS-CoV-2 serological assays and NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines which name me as inventor. Mount Sinai has spun out a company, CastleVax, to commercialize NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and I am named as co-founder and scientific advisory board member of that company.

I have previously consulted for Curevac, Merck, Gritstone, Sanofi, Seqirus, GSK and Pfizer and I am currently consulting for 3rd Rock Ventures (US) and Avimex (Mexico).

My laboratory has been collaborating in the past with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2 and with GlaxoSmithKline and VIR on the development of influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics and we are currently collaborating with Dynavax, Inspirevax and Inimmune on development of influenza virus vaccines.

My work in the on immunity and infectious diseases in the US is supported by the National Institutes of Health, but also by FluLab and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. In the past I have also received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH and the US Department of Defense.

My work in Austria is supported by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft and by the Ignaz Semmelweis Institute through the Medical University of Vienna.

The second part of the HIV series covers everything that happened after the virus was discovered: the intense stigma of the early years, the US government's years of inaction under Reagan and the activism that drove the development of treatments and public awareness. Florian Krammer explains how a near-certain death sentence became a manageable chronic condition, what PrEP is and how it works, and how a handful of people (the "Berlin patients") were actually cured of HIV. The episode closes with the current situation: why UNAIDS estimates that the withdrawal of US funding could lead to millions of additional infections and deaths worldwide.

Information about PrEP by the US CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/prevention/prep.html

US CDC information about lenacapavir: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7435a1.htm

General US CDC Information about HIV: https://www.cdc.gov/hivnexus/hcp/guidelines/index.html

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You can support the podcast via our German Steady page:

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Krammer laboratory information

Krammer Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness

Ignaz Semmelweis Institute

+++++

Conflict of interest statement

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has filed patent applications relating to influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics, SARS-CoV-2 serological assays and NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines which name me as inventor. Mount Sinai has spun out a company, CastleVax, to commercialize NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and I am named as co-founder and scientific advisory board member of that company.

I have previously consulted for Curevac, Merck, Gritstone, Sanofi, Seqirus, GSK and Pfizer and I am currently consulting for 3rd Rock Ventures (US) and Avimex (Mexico).

My laboratory has been collaborating in the past with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2 and with GlaxoSmithKline and VIR on the development of influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics and we are currently collaborating with Dynavax, Inspirevax and Inimmune on development of influenza virus vaccines.

My work in the on immunity and infectious diseases in the US is supported by the National Institutes of Health, but also by FluLab and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. In the past I have also received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH and the US Department of Defense.

My work in Austria is supported by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft and by the Ignaz Semmelweis Institute through the Medical University of Vienna.

The first of a two-part series on HIV starts with the virus itself and its history. Florian Krammer explains why HIV is one of the most cunning viruses we know: it infects the very cells of the immune system, permanently writes itself into our DNA, and hides from immune detection. The episode also covers how the virus is transmitted, why around one percent of Europeans are naturally protected from infection, how HIV likely jumped from primates to humans, and how it was discovered in the early 1980s - including the myth of "Patient 0." Part 2 will turn to stigma, activism, treatments, and the current situation.

Review article about the origins of HIV-1 and HIV-2:

Review/perspective article about the discovery of HIV by Gallo and

WHO HIV and AIDS information page:

To wrap up the hepatitis series, this episode covers the final letter: hepatitis E. A virus that's harmless for most people, often going completely unnoticed, but can be life-threatening for pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems. Florian Krammer explains why hepatitis E is both a human and a zoonotic virus, how it spreads through contaminated water and undercooked pork, and why it remains so little known despite around 20 million infections every year. Plus: a virus that looks different in blood and in stool, a vaccine that never made it to market outside China, and short updates on the Andes and Ebola outbreaks.

Link to WHO information about HEV: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-e

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7384095/

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You can support the podcast via our German Steady page:

Questions, feedback or topic suggestions?

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Krammer laboratory information

Krammer Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness

Ignaz Semmelweis Institute

+++++

Conflict of interest statement

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has filed patent applications relating to influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics, SARS-CoV-2 serological assays and NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines which name me as inventor. Mount Sinai has spun out a company, CastleVax, to commercialize NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and I am named as co-founder and scientific advisory board member of that company.

I have previously consulted for Curevac, Merck, Gritstone, Sanofi, Seqirus, GSK and Pfizer and I am currently consulting for 3rd Rock Ventures (US) and Avimex (Mexico).

My laboratory has been collaborating in the past with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2 and with GlaxoSmithKline and VIR on the development of influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics and we are currently collaborating with Dynavax, Inspirevax and Inimmune on development of influenza virus vaccines.

My work in the on immunity and infectious diseases in the US is supported by the National Institutes of Health, but also by FluLab and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. In the past I have also received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH and the US Department of Defense.

My work in Austria is supported by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft and by the Ignaz Semmelweis Institute through the Medical University of Vienna.

An Ebola outbreak is currently unfolding in the Democratic Republic of Congo — caused not by the well-known Ebola Zaire, but by Bundibugyo Ebola virus, a species for which no licensed vaccines or proven treatments exist. This episode covers the basics of Ebola viruses, how they spread, why they cause such severe disease, and what makes this particular outbreak so difficult to contain: it was detected late, it's happening in an active conflict zone, US support has largely been withdrawn, and the medical countermeasures simply aren't there yet. A global pandemic is unlikely given the transmission routes, but for the local population, this is already a serious tragedy.

DRC case tracking [French] https://sante.gouv.cd/epidemie/ebola-bundibugyo-2026

Review about neglected filoviruses (including Bundibugyo): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4931228/

WHO Bundibugyo outbreak overview: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON603

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You can support the podcast via our German Steady page:

Questions, feedback or topic suggestions?

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Krammer laboratory information

Krammer Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness

Ignaz Semmelweis Institute

+++++

Conflict of interest statement

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has filed patent applications relating to influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics, SARS-CoV-2 serological assays and NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines which name me as inventor. Mount Sinai has spun out a company, CastleVax, to commercialize NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and I am named as co-founder and scientific advisory board member of that company.

I have previously consulted for Curevac, Merck, Gritstone, Sanofi, Seqirus, GSK and Pfizer and I am currently consulting for 3rd Rock Ventures (US) and Avimex (Mexico).

My laboratory has been collaborating in the past with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2 and with GlaxoSmithKline and VIR on the development of influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics and we are currently collaborating with Dynavax, Inspirevax and Inimmune on development of influenza virus vaccines.

My work in the on immunity and infectious diseases in the US is supported by the National Institutes of Health, but also by FluLab and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. In the past I have also received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH and the US Department of Defense.

My work in Austria is supported by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft and by the Ignaz Semmelweis Institute through the Medical University of Vienna.

We all inhale mold spores every day — for most people, that's not a problem. But for those with a weakened immune system or pre-existing lung conditions, it can become life-threatening. In this episode, Florian talks with Prof. Helmut Salzer, Head of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at Kepler University Hospital in Linz, about Aspergillus and the three forms of aspergillosis: invasive, chronic, and allergic. Around four million people are affected worldwide every year, with more deaths than influenza causes annually. Yet the disease remains largely under the radar.

Incidence and mortality of severe fungal infections:

Latest international guidelines on chronic pulmonary aspergillosis:

ECMM – the umbrella organization of European mycological societies, focusing on the diagnosis, treatment and research of fungal infections:

GAFFI – a scientific society dedicated to the research and practical application of fungal disease:

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You can support the podcast via our German Steady page:

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Krammer laboratory information

Krammer Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness

Ignaz Semmelweis Institute

+++++

Conflict of interest statement

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has filed patent applications relating to influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics, SARS-CoV-2 serological assays and NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines which name me as inventor. Mount Sinai has spun out a company, CastleVax, to commercialize NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and I am named as co-founder and scientific advisory board member of that company.

I have previously consulted for Curevac, Merck, Gritstone, Sanofi, Seqirus, GSK and Pfizer and I am currently consulting for 3rd Rock Ventures (US) and Avimex (Mexico).

My laboratory has been collaborating in the past with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2 and with GlaxoSmithKline and VIR on the development of influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics and we are currently collaborating with Dynavax, Inspirevax and Inimmune on development of influenza virus vaccines.

My work in the on immunity and infectious diseases in the US is supported by the National Institutes of Health, but also by FluLab and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. In the past I have also received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH and the US Department of Defense.

My work in Austria is supported by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft and by the Ignaz Semmelweis Institute through the Medical University of Vienna.

Andes virus is the only known hantavirus that can spread from person to person and that's exactly what makes the current outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius so unprecedented. This episode covers the basics of hantaviruses, how Andes virus works, and why it causes such severe disease with a case fatality rate of 20–40%. It also traces the events on the Hondius from its departure in Ushuaia to the evacuation in Tenerife, and addresses the open questions that are making experts uneasy: How efficiently does Andes virus transmit between humans? Why is there no treatment? And why is developing a vaccine so difficult?

Nice overview of cases so far by Ian Mackay on Twitter: https://x.com/MackayIM/status/2054080783724544375/photo/1

Statement of the International Hantavirus Society: https://zenodo.org/records/20134326

Three scientific articles describing past human-two-human transmission of Andes virus:

1996: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042682297989765?via%3Dihub

2014: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7101103/

2018/19: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2009040

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You can support the podcast via our German Steady page:

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Krammer laboratory information

Krammer Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness

Ignaz Semmelweis Institute

+++++

Conflict of interest statement

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has filed patent applications relating to influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics, SARS-CoV-2 serological assays and NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines which name me as inventor. Mount Sinai has spun out a company, CastleVax, to commercialize NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and I am named as co-founder and scientific advisory board member of that company.

I have previously consulted for Curevac, Merck, Gritstone, Sanofi, Seqirus, GSK and Pfizer and I am currently consulting for 3rd Rock Ventures (US) and Avimex (Mexico).

My laboratory has been collaborating in the past with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2 and with GlaxoSmithKline and VIR on the development of influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics and we are currently collaborating with Dynavax, Inspirevax and Inimmune on development of influenza virus vaccines.

My work in the on immunity and infectious diseases in the US is supported by the National Institutes of Health, but also by FluLab and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. In the past I have also received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH and the US Department of Defense.

My work in Austria is supported by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft and by the Ignaz Semmelweis Institute through the Medical University of Vienna.

Before SARS-CoV-2, there was SARS-CoV-1 - a closely related coronavirus that caused a serious outbreak in 2002–2003 with a case fatality rate of around 10%. Unlike its successor, SARS-CoV-1 only became transmissible after symptoms appeared, which made it possible to identify and isolate infected people even without PCR tests. The virus spread from China to Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, and Vietnam via superspreader events before a global effort managed to contain it by June 2003. The likely origin: horseshoe bats at wet markets in Guangdong, with palm civets and raccoon dogs as intermediate hosts.

Review about the origins of SARS-CoV: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7120088/pdf/978-3-540-70962-6Chapter13.pdf

SARS outbreak at the Amoy Gardens residential towers: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa032867

Science article about superspreaders and the Metropole hotel in Hong Kong [unfortunately behind a paywall]: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.339.6125.1272

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You can support the podcast via our German Steady page:

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Krammer laboratory information

Krammer Laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Science Outreach and Pandemic Preparedness

Ignaz Semmelweis Institute

+++++

Conflict of interest statement

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has filed patent applications relating to influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics, SARS-CoV-2 serological assays and NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines which name me as inventor. Mount Sinai has spun out a company, CastleVax, to commercialize NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and I am named as co-founder and scientific advisory board member of that company.

I have previously consulted for Curevac, Merck, Gritstone, Sanofi, Seqirus, GSK and Pfizer and I am currently consulting for 3rd Rock Ventures (US) and Avimex (Mexico).

My laboratory has been collaborating in the past with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2 and with GlaxoSmithKline and VIR on the development of influenza virus vaccines and therapeutics and we are currently collaborating with Dynavax, Inspirevax and Inimmune on development of influenza virus vaccines.

My work in the on immunity and infectious diseases in the US is supported by the National Institutes of Health, but also by FluLab and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. In the past I have also received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH and the US Department of Defense.

My work in Austria is supported by the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft and by the Ignaz Semmelweis Institute through the Medical University of Vienna.