An isolated village. A mysterious outbreak. A physician whose patients trust him with their lives.

When American scientist Dr. Helen Seward travels to Romania's Carpathian Mountains to investigate cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, she expects to find infected ticks, complicated exposure histories, and a community struggling to contain a dangerous disease.

What she finds is something far stranger.

The ticks are appearing where they shouldn't. Medical records don't quite add up. And the village's beloved physician, Dr. Căpușan, seems to know more about the outbreak—and its unusual vectors—than he's willing to reveal.

Inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula, The House of Căpușan is an original Infectious Dose audio drama that brings infectious-disease science into the shadows of Gothic horror.

💀 Month of the Macabre 2026

🎬 This week's #SickFlicks: Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) and Nosferatu (2024). Two atmospheric explorations of vampirism, contagion, and the dangerous intimacy of blood.

🎧 Headphones recommended. This is an immersive, audio-only story.

🩸 Next week: It's the final week of Month of the Macabre, and we're celebrating with two special releases! Original Outbreak After Dark cohosts Kate and Sam return for an anniversary reunion with the original trio back together.

Then, on Friday, October 30—the 88th anniversary of the 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast—we're bringing you The Devil of Hawthorn Mill, an original audio drama inspired by Orson Welles' legendary broadcast.

📻 Tune in to WIDX. The broadcast is about to be interrupted.

Visit the episode blog post for the overview and downloadable transcript.

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.