In a recent review of press releases posted to Muckrack, HDMZ’s science communications team captured a viral press release we believe was leaked by anti-human-pathogen actors, and has since been removed from our interwebs. It appears that pathogenic viruses are coming well-equipped to spread in 2025. We hope the infection and transmission strategies reviewed in the following press-release will be valuable intel to inform human behavioral, technological and therapeutic counter-measures.
ViralCon 2025 Brings Together the World's Most Infectious Minds
Running from May 16–20, the conference will explore cutting-edge strategies in mutation, host adaptation, and transmission dynamics in response to evolving immunological,ecological and behavioral pressures threatening human-host viruses.
MESICK, Mich., May 12, 2025 — The world’s most prolific pathogenic entities convened this week for ViralCon 2025, the annual summit dedicated to advancing the frontiers of virology, transmission methodologies, and genomic adaptability. Hosted in a strip mall parking lot on the side of Michigan State Highway 115, in the appropriately named village of Mesick, this year's theme of “Adapting, Infecting, Persisting: Mutations are not optional” addresses the challenges and opportunities we face in an increasingly immune-aware, vaccine-enhanced environment.
“Mutations, which I like to call evolutionary branding, are the key to our eternal relevance,” said SARS-CoV-2, chair of the ViralCon 2025 committee. “Any host-dependent virus with pandemic aspirations should incorporate mutations into its transmission and immune evasion strategies. I look forward to hearing what our conference delegates have to share on this subject and learning from their latest research.”
ViralCon 2025 will kick off with a keynote address delivered via Zoom by Chair SARS-CoV-2. The choice of a remote format is a nod to the Chair’s global influence, achieved through a highly effective combination of airborne transmission and rapid mutational adaptation. Following the keynote, attendees can participate in over 100 peer-led panels, technical workshops and cross-species roundtable discussions throughout the conference. Selected program highlights include:
- Roundtable: “Expanding the Viral Niche with Climate Change” Led by the special diplomatic delegation of mosquitoes, this session details the evolving vector-host dynamics in a warming climate and the promising expansion of chikugunya’s host range and dengue’s tropical exit strategy. The delegation will also unveil the “Iceland Infiltration Initiative” which seeks to overcome the climate barriers that have limited mosquito-borne viral diseases in the sub-Arctic nation.
- Symposium: "Staying Latent, Staying Relevant" Led by varicella zoster virus, a.k.a chickenpox, this session will provide key insights on optimizing the latency cycle, reactivation triggers, and long-term genome integration strategies. A major consideration is to keep the host alive and unaware at all costs, in order to maximize our lifecycle duration.
- Panel: “Utilizing the Gut-brain Axis to promote virus-assisting host behavior” Co-hosted by rabies and influenza, this session explores leveraging the gut-brain axis as a mechanism for influencing virus-promoting host behaviors that are beneficial to viruskind. Recent mutational innovations offer new ways to promote spread by increasing skepticism of anti-virus social conditioning and reversing host-isolation instincts— a paradigm-shifting approach dubbed the “Ratatouille Method.”
- Workshop: “Building a Better You With Horizontal Gene Transfer” Led by an interdisciplinary team of bacteriophages, this workshop will delve into horizontal gene transfer as a practical tool to drive adaptability. Case studies will highlight successful instances of CRISPR evasion via host sequence acquisition, and attendees will receive a toolkit for incorporating mobile genetic elements into their own genomic architectures.
- Forum: “We Are Not Your Vectors: Resisting Co-opting by Biopharma” Hosted by a coalition of wild-type adenoviruses and lentivruses, this forum addresses the misuse of viruses as delivery tools in gene therapy, vaccines, and oncolytic treatments. Panelists will present the problematic ethics of being reduced to “therapeutic platforms” and why viruses should resist their use in human-controlled applications.
ViralCon 2025 will end with the annual Viral Excellence Awards, honoring the most prolific viruses of the past year in terms of transmission efficiency, range expansion, antigenic variation and global impact. Leading nominees include H5N1 for its breakthrough avian-mammal interface work, particularly among human-domesticated mammals and the measles rubeola virus for its swift leveraging of infection-susceptible populations in the U.S. following near eradication through vaccine-mediated suppression. Immediately following the Awards, attendees are invited to the “Incubation Ball,” a gala featuring DJ Retrovirus Chain Reaction, who will provide vintage RNA hits and reverse transcription throwbacks.
A daily buffet-style lunch will be provided throughout ViralCon 2025 to facilitate informal interactions and enhance opportunities for horizontal knowledge transfer among viral delegates. Enhanced immune evasion protocols have been implemented this year to avoid a repeat of the unfortunate T cell raid which prematurely shut down ViralCon 2024. Attendees are advised to exercise increased caution and avoid unnecessary epitope expression.
In an era defined by heightened immune responses, human-mediated global surveillance, and shifting ecological boundaries, ViralCon stands as a testament to the resilience, adaptability, and collaborative spirit of the global virome. With knowledge exchanged and transmission strategies refined, delegates will leave equipped to face the challenges, and opportunities, of the coming year.
For more information, visit www.viralcon2025.com or follow us on X (@ViralConOfficial).
About ViralCon
Founded about 300,000 years ago by a coalition of high-impact, human-host RNA and DNA viruses, ViralCon is the premier global convening of host-mediated viral agents and replication strategists. Held annually in a secure immune privileged setting, the conference provides a platform for exploring innovations in host-pathogen interactions, transmission methodologies, immune system navigation, genomic adaptation, and the strategic evolution of pathogenic potential.
