How mineral mining changes Ebola ecology & makes spillover more likely: "When people expand their farms, they generally push into forests from the edges. Those who seek minerals, in contrast, plunge deep into the core of the forest."
Christina Bergey
@bergeycm
Assistant professor at Rutgers Genetics studying genomic evolution of humans, mosquitoes, monkeys...
- I struggle to wrap my head around various “scales” of this and recent Ebola outbreaks: deaths, geography, healthcare spending gap, etc. But I can't fathom the amount of bravery shown by the people in those clinics caring for the sick at intense personal risk.Important reporting by @declanwalsh on the ground in an Ebola hot spot in Congo, underscoring the challenges of containing the virus -- especially when the US has slashed aid spending and cut support for @who. nytimes.com/2026/05/22/wor…
- I teach the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak as the time genomic epidemiology came of age. Rapid viral sequencing showed the potential that was realized in later Ebola/Zika outbreaks. That infrastructure was built with years of US support. It hurts my soul that our will to fund it is gone.
- I was recently in Uganda, often within a mile of DRC. The speed of this has me very worried. DRC keeps seeing Ebola for structural reasons: collapsed health infrastructure and poverty. Add conflict in eastern DRC, and I’m scared we’re in for repeat of '18-'20 that killed 2000+.The early trajectory of the Ebola outbreak in DRC is alarming. Spread of the disease likely went undetected for months. Fast detection and response are crucial to stop outbreaks.
- Preprint! 🧬 PhD student Lindsey Hauff @LindseyHauff led the team to sequence an endangered lemur entirely in Madagascar, steps from the rainforest at @CentreValBio, using @nanopore. Portable seq = game changer for genomics in high-biodiversity countries.
