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Key International Mpox Trial Finds No Clinical Benefit from Tecovirimat 

February 26, 2026
William A. Fischer II, MD, Director of Emerging Pathogens at UNC’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases and Joe Eron, MD, UNC Chief of Infectious Diseases and chair of the ACTG, co-authored a study that found tecovirimat used to treat mpox does not shorten time to lesion resolution, reduce...

Study Warns of Underrecognized Lassa Fever Threat with Global Implications

January 27, 2026
Chapel Hill, NC—A new study led by researchers at the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill shows an urgent need for improved detection and treatment of Lassa fever, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Lassa fever–a severe...

Fischer, WHO Clinical Team Demonstrate Critical Care Can Be Delivered Safely for Marburg Patients

November 11, 2025
Landmark research led by William Fischer II, MD, director of emerging pathogens for the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, describes the successful delivery of advanced care to patients with Marburg virus disease during Rwanda’s third largest outbreak on record, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseasesand The New...

Testing UNC’s Special Pathogen Readiness Ahead of the FIFA World Cup

July 21, 2025
North Carolina directly benefits from the work of global health researchers working in other countries, monitoring disease and containing outbreaks. For years, Fischer and David Wohl, MD, have contained diseases like Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Lassa virus, in West Africa, setting up field treatment units during outbreak settings to isolate and effectively care...

William Fischer—Advancing Bedside Care During Outbreaks

October 18, 2023
The British medical journal The Lancet profiled William Fischer, MD, associate professor of medicine and director of emerging pathogens at the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, for his dedication to advancing bedside care during outbreaks. Some people have unique stories about how they met their partner, but...

Pathogens and Pop Culture: Part II of Dr. Billy Fischer’s Interview

July 28, 2023
This is part two of Dr. Billy Fischer’s interview with Lauren Sauer, MSc, director of the special pathogens research network at NETEC and associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), and Rachel Lookadoo, a public health lawyer and assistant professor at UNMC. Dr. Fischer, a pulmonary critical care...

Pathogens and Pop Culture: An Interview with Dr. Billy Fischer (Part I)

June 11, 2023
Dr. Billy Fischer talks about his experiences with Ebola and other viral hemorrhagic fevers in an interview with Lauren Sauer, MSc, director of the special pathogens research network at NETEC and associate professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), and Rachel Lookadoo, a public health lawyer and assistant professor...

Could Science Be Synonymous With Courage? The News This Week Is Timely

October 28, 2022
As Fischer and Wohl Fight Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Selects UNC to be a Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC). Read press announcement. Many courageous infectious disease specialists and other clinicians have not shied...