Walter Harrington (@waltphd) header
Walter Harrington (@waltphd) profile picture

Walter Harrington

@waltphd

PhD, MPH | ☧ | Influenza, ducks and the way. The disdain for the Oxford comma was intentional. Postdoc at St. Jude, views my own.

 Memphis, TN
walterharrington.com
Joined January 2014
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77Media
Photo by Walter Harrington (@waltphd)Photo by Walter Harrington (@waltphd)Photo by Walter Harrington (@waltphd)Photo by Walter Harrington (@waltphd)Photo by Walter Harrington (@waltphd)Photo by Walter Harrington (@waltphd)Photo by Walter Harrington (@waltphd)Photo by Walter Harrington (@waltphd)Photo by Walter Harrington (@waltphd)Photo by Walter Harrington (@waltphd)
Got flu questions? Check out my answers to some of the most common flu questions here! medium.com/discourse/your-fl…
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Pretty cool little paper on a highly pathogenic avian influenza detection we found in a resident goose in Memphis. Great for a short introduction to some of the surveillance work that we do! journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128…
Isolation of a D1.1-related reassortant HPAI H5N1 virus from a resident Canada goose in an urban...

Isolation of a D1.1-related reassortant HPAI H5N1 virus from a resident Canada goose in an urban...

Since their introduction into North America in late 2021 (1), clade 2.3.4.4b high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) H5Nx viruses have become endemic and reassorted extensively with co-circulating...

journals.asm.org
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Me: I voted this year! Friend: Oh, it’s that bad, huh? Me: … yes.
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Father: “No honey, I don’t choose favorite children.” Daughter (only child): "Oh."
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Our paper on the emergence and spread of HPAI H5N1 genotype D1.1 is finally out in Nature Medicine, and I'd love for you to give it a read! Big thanks to everyone involved. nature.com/articles/s41591-0…
Rapid expansion of genotype D1.1 A(H5N1) influenza viruses in wild birds across North America...

Rapid expansion of genotype D1.1 A(H5N1) influenza viruses in wild birds across North America...

Nature Medicine - Using active and passive genomic surveillance, researchers observed the rapid spread of high pathogenicity avian influenza H5N1 D1.1 viruses in wild birds during the 2024...

nature.com
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stjude.org/media-resources/n…
First continent-wide map of dominant avian influenza strain explains its spread

First continent-wide map of dominant avian influenza strain explains its spread

Find out how mapping the spread of an avian influenza strain through birds across North America helped scientists understand its human-to-human spread risk.

stjude.org
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Really fun interview that y'all should check out! Big thanks to Meg at @IDSE_Online for reaching out to talk about H5N1 in ducks, which is obviously one of my favorite topics.
Infectious Disease Special Edition (@IDSE_Online) profile pictureInfectious Disease Special Edition
@IDSE_OnlineMar 12
Why are scientists swabbing ducks? 🦆 In this interview, Walter Harrington explains how researchers track H5N1 avian influenza in wild waterfowl—and what these studies reveal about how dangerous flu strains spread. idse.net/a/YDgBAA/t #Flu
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Full intereview here: youtube.com/watch?v=B8CFmbBY…
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I love a good ratio.
Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) profile pictureThomas Massie
@RepThomasMassieJan 17
Replying to @AGPamBondi
What about AG’s who violate the Epstein Files Transparency Act? You’ve missed both deadlines set in the law.
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Have we considered bringing back the Whig party?
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Neil deGrasse Tyson deniers be like “of course New Year’s Day has true astrophysical significance.”
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Y’all. I really should know this as an influenza researcher, but let me tell you. Flu A. Is. No. Joke.
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Happy opening day of duck season in TN to all who celebrate.
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It's actually kinda crazy that dragons don't exist, tbh.
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It's a cool moment to open up a newsletter you're subscribed to and see your figure as the header.
Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) profile pictureDr. Angela Rasmussen
@angie_rasmussen17 Nov 2025
I've got a bad feeling about the upcoming flu season, given the fact that there are a bunch of subtypes at this party with the potential to wreak varying amounts of havoc. So I broke it all down here. open.substack.com/pub/rasmus…
Image from Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen)
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*reviewing manuscript* Me: "Am I... am I reviewer 2? ... Oh no."
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“But when I became a man, I put away childish things,”I whisper as I scroll past my tenth reel that’s was popular on TikTok three weeks ago.
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My wife changed our Alexa wake word to “Computer”, and honestly it feels very dystopian.
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Good news, apparently I don't know that August is the 8th month, not the 9th month, so these dates have actually not come yet. So, I have another opportunity to miss out on all the fun!
Walter Harrington (@waltphd) profile pictureWalter Harrington@waltphd17 Aug 2025
There are three bird seasons open in Tennessee, and I am an active participant in none of them. 😔
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There are three bird seasons open in Tennessee, and I am an active participant in none of them. 😔
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4yo: "You starts with a U!" Me: "Well, no, actually 'you' starts with a y." 4yo: "Why?" Me: "And that actually starts with a w... English is an interesting language buddy."
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