Episodes

  • TWiP 280: The wriggling diagnosis
    May 29 2026

    TWiP solves the case of the 3 yo child, who recently immigrated to the US from Central America, in the ER with acute right lower quadrant abdominal pain and a rather active serpiginous wormlike 'thing' wiggling away in the child's appendix.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Links for this episode
    • Join the MicrobeTV Discord server
    • Hero: Rudolf Ludwig Carl Virchow (1821-1902)
    • Letters read on TWiP 280
    • TWiP study – information and survey

    New Case

    3 yo child who recently immigrated to the US from Central America is brought in to the ER with acute right lower quadrant abdominal pain. The mother is concerned about the pain as well as nausea and vomiting. This is acute and the ER provider is concerned that this might be an acute surgical emergency. They order an US in this child and they are surprised to see a rather active serpiginous wormlike 'thing' wiggling away in the child's appendix. I was sent the Ultrasound video which I really enjoyed. What to do?

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

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    57 mins
  • TWiP 279: Tolling for hookworms
    May 1 2026

    TWiP reviews a phase 2 clinical trial of a recombinant vaccine against N. americanus glutathione S-transferase-1, an enzyme that performs a crucial enzymatic step in
    hookworm blood feeding.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Links for this episode
    • Join the MicrobeTV Discord server
    • Phase 2 hookworm vaccine clinical trial (Lancet Inf Dis)
    • Phase 2 Schistosoma vaccine clinical trial (Vaccines)
    • TWiP study – information and survey

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    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

    Music by Ronald Jenkees

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    51 mins
  • TWiP 278: Trichinella from eating bear eyeballs
    Apr 24 2026

    TWiP solves the case of the male in his 20s from Hokkaido, Japan, who developed fatigue and rash, followed by fever and myalgia 6 days later, after eating a raw bear eyeball.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Links for this episode
    • Join the MicrobeTV Discord server
    • Hero: Sir Nicholas White (1951 – 2026) (Guardian, Lancet)
    • Letters read on TWiP 278
    • TWiP study – information and survey

    New Case

    3 yo child who recently immigrated to the US from Central America is brought in to the ER with acute right lower quadrant abdominal pain. The mother is concerned about the pain as well as nausea and vomiting. This is acute and the ER provider is concerned that this might be an acute surgical emergency. They order an US in this child and they are surprised to see a rather active serpiginous wormlike 'thing' wiggling away in the child's appendix. I was sent the Ultrasound video which I really enjoyed. What to do?

    Become a patron of TWiP

    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

    Music by Ronald Jenkees

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    56 mins
  • TWiP 277: Rif-ing on river blindness
    Apr 21 2026
    TWiP 277: Rif-ing on river blindness April 21, 2026

    TWiP reviews the global, regional, and national burden of Chagas disease, and comparison of doxycycline and rifampicin for the treatment of onchocerciasis.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email

    Links for this episode
    • Join the MicrobeTV Discord server
    • Burden of Chagas' disease (Lancet Inf Dis)
    • Doxycycline vs rifampicin in treatment of river blindness (Open For Inf Dis)
    • The kissing bug by Daisy Hernandez
    • TWiP study – information and survey

    Become a patron of TWiP

    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

    Music by Ronald Jenkees

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • TWiP 276: Travel history is the key
    Mar 23 2026

    TWiP solves the case of the man in his 60s experiencing weight loss, fatigue, and loss of appetite.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Links for this episode
    • Join the MicrobeTV Discord server
    • Hero: Bailey K. Ashford
    • Letters read on TWiP 276
    • TWiP study – information and survey

    New Case

    Male in his 20s from Hokkaido, Japan, developed fatigue and rash, followed by fever and myalgia 6 days later. He was a group of five individuals on a hunting trip prior to this and reports that 3 friends are just fine but one other individual developed similar symptoms. He reports that they had been hunting the Ussuri brown bear, which is larger and more aggressive than the Asian black bear. They had been successful and all five of them had consumed well cooked bear meat. He does share that he is aware of infectious risk from eating bear and thus the meat was well cooked. He and the one fellow hunter who did get sick were unique in that they each ate one of the eye balls raw. This is a tradition that is felt to give the consumer the great vision that these animals are purported to have.

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    Music by Ronald Jenkees

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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • TWiP 275: Novel malaria vector control
    Mar 12 2026

    TWiP reviews the effectiveness of long-lasting spatial repellent emanators against malaria in humanitarian crisis settings in northern Nigeria, and Dengue suppression by male Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Links for this episode
    • Join the MicrobeTV Discord server
    • Spatial emanators for malaria control (Lancet Inf Dis)
    • Dengue suppression with Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes (NEJM)
    • Singapore Environmental Health Institute (TWiV 630)
    • TWiP study – information and survey

    Become a patron of TWiP

    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

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    42 mins
  • TWiP 274: Four tablets for bloating
    Feb 17 2026

    TWiP solves the case of the 40 year old male who travels to India and develops intestinal bloating and diarrhea.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

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    Links for this episode
    • Join the MicrobeTV Discord server
    • Hero: Glenn L. Hoffmann
    • Fish and seafood consumption (Our World in Data)
    • Wild fish vs aquaculture (Our World in Data)
    • TWiP study – information and survey

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    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

    Music by Ronald Jenkees

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    48 mins
  • TWiP 273: Intestinal parasites in dogs
    Feb 6 2026

    TWiP reviews intestinal parasites in dogs and their association with clinical manifestations of canine visceral leishmaniasis.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Daniel Griffin, and Christina Naula

    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email

    Links for this episode
    • Join the MicrobeTV Discord server
    • Intestinal parasites in dogs (Vet Parasitol)
    • Zoonotic protozoal diseases of companion animals (Clin Micr Rev)
    • Canine visceral leishmaniasis in stray and owned dogs in Brazil (Acta tropica)
    • Zoonotic protozoal diseases of companion animals (Clin Micr Rev)
    • Canine visceral leishmaniasis (Leish Vet, pdf)
    • Immune Responses in leishmaniasis (Trop Med Inf Dis)
    • Canine leishmaniasis in the US (Today's Vet Prac)
    • TWiP study - information and survey

    Become a patron of TWiP

    Send your questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

    Music by Ronald Jenkees

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    1 hr and 6 mins