Outbreak News Interviews

Federal and state health officials have been investigating a multistate outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to salad mixes distributed to McDonald’s by the Fresh Express since mid July. The latest numbers from the CDC put the parasite outbreak total to over 500 cases from 16 states. Fresh Express pulled the salad mix during the last week […] The post Cyclospora Blue-Ribbon Panel, China withholding H7N9 avian flu samples appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Timely global surveillance of infectious disease threats around the world is critical for governments, healthcare organizations and businesses as they need actionable intelligence. BlueDot is a company that that does just that. Joining me to talk about some current and past outbreaks and the work of BlueDot is CEO Dr. Kamran Khan. In addition, Dr […] The post Measles, global surveillance and the work of BlueDot appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Fluoroquinolones are a type of antibiotic that is an important part of a physicians prescribing arsenal.  However, they do carry with them some serious side effects and according to a new study published in the journal, Clinical Infectious Diseases, fluoroquinolones are commonly prescribed for conditions when antibiotics are not needed at all, or when they are […] The post Antibiotics: Fluoroquinolone prescribing in the US appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Rabies has been a topic several times on the radio show where I looked at a variety of topics related to this lethal virus. On the return to the airwaves of the Outbreak News This Week Radio Show Sunday, I look at rabies with a different set of topics–some history, some mythology and public health and […] The post Rabies: History, myths and diagnosis on Outbreak News This Week appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that occurs mainly in the rain forest countries of central and west Africa. The disease was first discovered in laboratory monkeys in 1958. In 1970, monkeypox was reported in humans for the first time. In June 2003, monkeypox was reported in prairie dogs and humans in the United States. […] The post Monkeypox: Q&A with Dr Warren Andiman appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A relatively new advanced degree is now available at select institutions for Clinical Laboratory Scientists (CLS), or Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLS), and that’s the Doctorate in Clinical Laboratory Science (DCLS). Texas State University Program Chair for the Clinical Laboratory Science Program, Rodney Rohde, PhD joins me on the show to talk about this exciting new degree for […] The post Doctorate in Clinical Laboratory Science (DCLS) with Dr Rodney Rohde appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi; the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another. Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases of animals that can cause disease when transmitted to humans. Infectious disease medicine requires an extensive understanding of the way in which bacterial, […] The post Infectious diseases: Some select ‘pearls’ with Sandra Gompf, MD appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A person on my Facebook page, Infectious disease news, who frequently posts anti-vaccine comments and links to certain posts placed a link to a article from a website called Natural News. The author, SD Wells, asks the question and gives his or her answer in a piece called– Which has killed more people, measles or the […] The post A ridiculous measles vaccine article examined appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Today’s topic is hot with 3 major papers in the last few months, that is the viral hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was estimated to affect 35.5 million people worldwide in 2010 and is expected to affect 115.4 million people by 2050. Four members of the Human Herpes Virus family have been associated […] The post Alzheimer’s Disease: The need to test the viral hypothesis appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that substandard and falsified medicines, including medicines to treat malaria, are a serious problem in much of the world. Here to talk about this serious issue in more detail is Sachiko Ozawa, Ph.D. Dr Ozawa is a health economist and associate professor […] The post Fake medicines in developing countries: An interview with Dr Sachiko Ozawa appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A recent Reuters article on the problem with Venezuela’s measles outbreak crossing the Brazilian border said the following: Brazil complained on Thursday that Venezuela was doing nothing to stop the spread of an outbreak of measles in Brazil and other neighboring countries that has been sparked by an exodus of Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse. This […] The post Totalitarian governments spawn infectious disease outbreaks that place other countries at risk appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Lyme disease is a potentially serious bacterial infection that is spread by bites from infected blacklegged ticks and deer ticks. The bacterium, called Borrelia burgdorferi, causes more than 300,000 illnesses each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The prevalence of Lyme disease is increasing in the United States and according […] The post Lyme disease in the US: The Quest Diagnostics Health Trends report appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Rat lungworm infection or Angiostrongyliasis is a parasitic infection that is relatively rare in the US; however, its effects on those infected can be quite serious.  Last Friday, a CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report or (MMWR) looked at cases of CNS disease in the continental US for a 6 year period.  Joining me on today’s […] The post Rat lungworm in the US: An interview with Dr Eugene Liu appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A recent study by Johns Hopkins researchers look at the flu and what may explain why men recover faster. The study published in the journal Biology of Sex Differences demonstrates increased amounts of a lung-healing protein called amphiregulin (AREG) could be the reason why men recover from influenza more quickly than women.  Public health physician and vaccinologist, […] The post Flu, amphiregulin and faster recovery in men appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Last week I reported on a Wisconsin man who contracted a very serious infection with the bacterium, Capnocytophaga canimorsus and quickly went into septic shock. It is suspected he contracted the bacterium from a dog lick. The latest news on his condition was he had all four limbs amputated. So what is Capnocytophaga? Joining me […] The post What is Capnocytophaga? appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Filarial worms are long thread like worms that live in the tissue and body cavities of vertebrates. Their eggs mature into tiny larvae called microfilariae. There are at least eight filarids that are of importance to humans and today we’ll be talking about two of them—Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi. Joining me to discuss filariasis […] The post Filariasis: Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Shoko Asahara, founder of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo and mastermind behind the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway system and other crimes and acts of terror, and 6 other members were recently executed in Japan. Joining me to look at the cult Aum Shinrikyo and the acts of terror they committed […] The post Aum Shinrikyo: A look back at the terror appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The CDC reports–A U.S. study in 1996 showed that 30% of dogs younger than 6 months deposit Toxocara eggs in their feces; other studies have shown that almost all puppies are born already infected with Toxocara canis. Research also suggests that 25% of all cats are infected with Toxocara cati. In humans, it has been […] The post Toxocara in the UK: A discussion with Dr Ian Wright appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Herpes Virus family consist of a number of viruses–herpes simplex-1 and 2, cytomegalovirus (CMV), Varicella Zoster Virus (VSV) and Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). EBV infects about nine out of 10 people and a good number will develop infectious mononucleosis (IM) Despite this, my guest today, infectious disease physician, Steven LaRosa, MD calls EBV “The red-headed step child […] The post Epstein-Barr Virus: The red-headed step child of the Herpes Virus family appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial zoonotic disease caused by the corkscrew shaped organism, Leptospira. It goes by several other names depending on the locale; mud fever, swamp fever, sugar cane and Fort Bragg fever, among others. It is a disease of both humans and animals. On July 5th, the Philippines Department of Health declared a leptospirosis outbreak […] The post Philippines: Manila Leptospirosis outbreak update with Dr. Ted Herbosa appeared first on Outbreak News Today.