In this episode we are joined by Infectious disease specialist Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, the Founder and Director of the Centers on Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Director of the Biothreats Emergence, Analysis and Communications Network (BEACON) . Dr. Bhadelia also has fron line experience providing direct patient care and participating in outbreak response during multiple Ebola outbreaks in East and West Africa in 2014 and 2019.

In the episode we discuss the the rapidly evolving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the recent Andes Hantavirus cluster linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship.

Dr. Bhadelia explains why the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is particularly concerning, including the lack of established vaccines and treatments, the challenges of outbreak response in conflict zones, and the growing spread into urban centers and neighboring countries. The conversation also explores how Ebola is actually transmitted, why healthcare workers remain at high risk, and how misinformation, unsafe burials, and limited resources complicate containment efforts.

The episode also touches on the recent hantavirus cases associated with cruise ship MV Hondius, current understanding of person-to-person transmission of the Andes Hanta virus, and why experts are monitoring the situation closely while emphasizing that it is unlikely to become a pandemic threat.

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia is the founding director of the Boston University Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases and a board-certified infectious diseases physician. She is an Associate Professor at the BU School of Medicine and a national expert in global health security, pandemic preparedness, and emerging infectious threats.

From 2022 to 2023, Dr. Bhadelia served as Senior Policy Advisor for Global COVID-19 Response at the White House, where she led U.S. interagency efforts on global vaccine donations and helped direct Project NextGen, a $5 billion initiative to develop next-generation vaccines and treatments for pandemic-prone viruses. She also served on the White House MPOX Response Team.

Dr. Bhadelia has extensive frontline and research experience responding to outbreaks including Ebola, COVID-19, Zika, and other high-consequence pathogens, with work spanning the U.S., West and East Africa, and Uganda. She previously led the Special Pathogens Unit at Boston Medical Center, a state-designated Ebola Treatment Center, and is a co-founder of BEACON, an open-source outbreak surveillance network.

She currently serves on national and international advisory bodies including the National Academies and the World Health Organization, teaches global health security at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, and has published in Nature, Science, and The New England Journal of Medicine. Her expertise has been featured by NBC and MSNBC, The Atlantic, Time, National Geographic, and NOVA.