Year in review: A look back at Science Speaks in 2022

The new year is well underway, but before the calendar turns to February, it’s worth looking back at some of the most viewed posts on Science Speaks in 2022 and other highlights from the blog’s coverage.  

The year featured several highly viewed reports from frequent and longtime contributor Daniel R. Lucey, MD, MPH, FIDSA, whose dispatches updated readers on developments related to the mpox outbreak, initially unexplained cases of acute lung disease in Argentina later attributed to Legionella, and the Ebola virus outbreak in Uganda, among many other topics. Most recently, his posts have highlighted implications of the concerning increase in COVID-19 cases in China.

Other well-viewed contributions in 2022 included a piece discussing the global implications of recent polio cases identified in the U.S., authored by Kimberly Thompson, ScD, and Kamran Badizadegan, MD. We learned about the history of mpox in Nigeria from Dimie Ogoina, MBBS, FIDSA, who along with his team at Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, diagnosed and managed the first reported case of the disease during that country’s 2017 outbreak. Emily Spivak, MD, MHS, FIDSA, detailed the impact of COVID-19 on antimicrobial stewardship teams on the front lines of the pandemic.

Blog readers also learned about lessons from Tanzania’s efforts to distribute millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses, in a post from Florian Tinuga, MD, MPH; Matiko Machagge, MSc, BPharm; and Ruben Conner, MPH. HIVMA Chair-Elect Allison Agwu, MD, ScM, FIDSA, provided a powerful reflection on racism and social determinants of health, the long-lasting impact of history and the need to address disparities and inequities in HIV treatment and prevention through provider education.

In addition, IDSA and HIVMA leaders, members and staff provided key updates on challenges facing the field and needed actions to address them. These include efforts to strengthen the ID workforce to bolster pandemic preparedness; improve ID physician compensation to reflect the value this workforce provides; address antimicrobial resistance and strengthen the antibiotic development pipeline; and end the HIV epidemic in the U.S.

Many thanks to all the authors who shared their perspectives and expertise with us in 2022. If you would like to write for Science Speaks, please see our contributor guidelines, including how you can submit your post ideas. We would love to hear from you. Thank you for reading!