Clinical Update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

Daniel Griffin (0:00)

This Week in Virology, the podcast about viruses, the kind that make you sick.

Vincent Racaniello (0:10)

From Microbe TV, this is TWiV, This Week in Virology, episode 1364, recorded on October 8th, 2026 I'm Vincent Racaniello, and you're listening to the podcast, All About Viruses.

With me today here in Colorado, Daniel Griffin.

Daniel Griffin (0:33)

Hello. Hello, everyone. Yeah, I have to change that. So joining me today in Colorado, we're together up at 11,100 feet at the Mount Hayden Backcountry Lodge. And maybe if you listen closely, you can hear the crackling of the fire in the background. You hear a little bit of crackling and popping there.

Vincent Racaniello (0:52)

Maybe. So you can see we're both together in this, couldn't you call it a backcountry cottage? Not a cottage, a lodge.

Daniel Griffin (0:59)

A backcountry lodge.

Vincent Racaniello (1:01)

I have a guitar next to me here.

Daniel Griffin (1:04)

Just in case.

Vincent Racaniello (1:05)

And a rug to give you the scenic thing. But yeah, I came out here and Daniel and I are together on a retreat for Parasites Without Borders.

Daniel Griffin (1:16)

Yeah, Chuck Knersh was with us.

Vincent Racaniello (1:18)

That's right.

Daniel Griffin (1:18)

Yeah. So we actually got a lot done. We had a great meeting yesterday. We went over all our financials and what we're trying to accomplish to make the world a better place.

Vincent Racaniello (1:28)

And so now we are, of course, doing two TWiVs. Well, one TWiV and tomorrow a TWiP, right?

Daniel Griffin (1:34)

Yeah, tomorrow we'll do a TWiP.

Vincent Racaniello (1:36)

No bow tie, right?

Daniel Griffin (1:37)

No, no bow tie. But we will start with a John Muir quote.

Vincent Racaniello (1:44)

That's relevant, right? Very, very relevant. He started all the national parks, right?

Daniel Griffin (1:49)

He really was, I would say, a lot of responsibility there, right? He really got Teddy Roosevelt on board with it. I mean, really a charismatic person who, I mean, a lot of this amazing nature that we all have the opportunity to enjoy is because of the passion of John Muir.

Vincent Racaniello (2:07)

And is Rocky Mountain National Park near here? Not too far. Yeah. That's well, that's yeah.

Daniel Griffin (2:12)

The northeast part up by Fort Collins just west of Fort Collins.

But all right, let's jump in. When one hugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.

Vincent Racaniello (2:24)

It's true, right?

Daniel Griffin (2:25)

I like that.

Vincent Racaniello (2:25)

One world.

Daniel Griffin (2:26)

Yeah.

Vincent Racaniello (2:27)

We've known that and I like that very much.

Daniel Griffin (2:30)

All right. So we're actually speaking. I mean, we mentioned Teddy Roosevelt. Now we're going to mention George Washington.

So we're going to start with it. This is actually the cover, right? Like, read, what is this on the cover of Emerging Infectious Disease? And you click and you get Smallpox History and Decisive Actions of George Washington.

Vincent Racaniello (2:47)

So this is a painting of George, but it's not done, right?

Daniel Griffin (2:50)

Do you know why it's not done?

Vincent Racaniello (2:51)

No, I have no idea.

Daniel Griffin (2:52)

The painter loved it so much that he didn't want to finish it. Because as soon as he finished it, he was going to have to give it.

Vincent Racaniello (2:58)

Actually, it's kind of weird, right? Not weird, modern-ish, that it's not done, right?

Daniel Griffin (3:06)

There's a Martha Washington.

Vincent Racaniello (3:08)

Same thing?

Daniel Griffin (3:09)

Yes, same thing, kind of partially finished. Well, all right, so let's read a little bit of this article. And you will notice, right? So hopefully David will have this up on the screen. YouTube watchers can look. And people will recognize this portrait, because the portrait on the cover was the inspiration for George Washington on Our Currency.

And you see him with these rosy cheeks and this nice complexion.

Vincent Racaniello (3:32)

Tight-lipped, because his spring-loaded fake teeth.

Daniel Griffin (3:37)

Yeah, he had no teeth, so he had these.

Vincent Racaniello (3:39)

And he had to keep his mouth, otherwise it would pop open, apparently.

Daniel Griffin (3:42)

Oh, interesting. I'm learning more.

So here's the story. So, smallpox, right? So in 1751, Lawrence Washington, George's elder half-brother, was suffering from tuberculosis. We're getting it all in here. And had George accompany him to Barbados as a potential refuge. Now, during that stay, the younger Washington contracted smallpox, enduring an illness lasting several weeks with residual minor facial scarring. So that was sort of the interesting thing. You don't see the facial scarring in these.