An award-winning podcast focusing on the science behind public and global health, and solutions to improve health and health equity worldwide. Brought to you from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Hosts Karl Byrne and Naomi Stewart interview polio survivor Anne Wafula Strike, Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, and Dr. Zubair Wadood to explore polio's resurgence and global eradication challenges.
5 Dec 2025
Winter Flu Alert: H3N2, Early Spikes, and the Universal Vaccine Quest
If your morning commute sounds coughier than usual, you aren't imagining things.
Reports confirm that the UK flu season has kicked off weeks ahead of schedule. With COVID-19 and RSV also circulating, are we facing a "tripledemic"? And why does the flu virus shape-shift enough to require a new vaccine every single autumn?
In this episode, host Karl Byrne sits down with Professor Punam Mangtani, a leading epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), to decode the data behind this year's outbreak.
They explain the difference between the H1N1 and H3N2 strains, why the UK looks to Australia for warning signs, and the biological "typo" that causes the virus to drift away from our immune system's memory. Plus, we look at how mRNA vaccine technology can help us tackle flu pandemics faster, and ask: Are we getting closer to a "universal" vaccine?
In this episode, we cover:
01:45 – The Early Surge: Why school data signals a difficult winter ahead.
02:4 8 – The Australia Warning: What the Southern Hemisphere tells us about case numbers vs. severity.
03:50 – H3N2 vs. H1N1: Decoding the alphabet soup of viral strains.
05:13 – The Tripledemic: How Flu, RSV, and COVID-19 interact (and why you probably won't catch them all at once).
07:10 – Antigenic Drift: The molecular reason why last year's vaccine won't protect you this year.
08:35 – The Prediction Game: How the WHO selects vaccine strains months in advance.
10:37 – 60% effectiveness?: How effective must a vaccine be in order to be thought of as good?
12:55 – The Holy Grail: The latest research on Universal Flu Vaccines.
14:23 – Prevention: Why surface cleaning works better for Flu than it did for COVID.
Guest:
Professor Punam Mangtani – Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at LSHTM and expert in respiratory viruses, vaccine effectiveness, and public health surveillance.
Learn more:
LSHTM Vaccine Centre (https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/research/centres/vaccine-centre)
Expert Comment: Why the UK is expecting a bad flu season (https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2025/expert-comment-why-uk-expecting-bad-flu-season-year)
Credits:
Host: Karl Byrne
Producer: Karl Byrne
Editor: Karl Byrne
Follow us on social media:Twitter: @LSHTM (https://twitter.com/LSHTM)Instagram: @LSHTM (https://www.instagram.com/lshtm)
#LSHTM #GlobalHealth #Flu #H3N2 #PublicHealth #Vaccines #Epidemiology #Tripledemic
14 Oct 2025
Health Misinformation: UNPACKED
Why do we fall for false or misleading information about our health? And in a world flooded with viral claims and conspiracy theories, how can we fight back?
On September 15th 2025, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine brought together world-leading experts to tackle one of the most urgent threats to public health: misinformation.
In this special episode, host Karl Byrne takes you inside the event to unpack the key takeaways. You'll hear from behavioural scientists on the psychology of "pre-bunking" and why our emotions make us vulnerable; journalists on the practical challenges of verifying news in a 24/7 cycle; and global health experts on how the fight looks different from West Africa to the UK.
Featuring insights from Professor Sir Chris Whitty (Chief Medical Officer for England), Professor Sander van der Linden (University of Cambridge), LSHTM researchers, experts from BBC Media Action, PA Media, and international organisations.
This episode explores the timeless techniques behind the misinformation machine, how we can effectively fight it and asks what it will take to rebuild trust. This isn't just a discussion about fake news- it's about finding clarity in the chaos.
Find out more about the network to fight health misinformation in the UK and how you can help. (https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/health-misinformation-unpacked/network-fight-health-misinformation-uk)
Inside a recent episode
Polio: Forgotten, but not gone
Published 2 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] The issue here is that the virus that was found was derived from the vaccine virus but it mutated to a form where it was at risk of causing polio. Wait, the vaccine caused the virus? If you're scrolling through the internet, you'll see this claim everywhere about the polio vaccine. But we know a little knowledge can be incredibly dangerous when stripped of its context. Let's break it down. There are two vaccines. The one we use in the UK is an inactivated vaccine, a dead virus delivered by injection. And as Professor Pollard points out, science has evolved. The novel oral polio vaccine is safer and more stable than ever. […]
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
