Outbreak News Interviews

Trichomoniasis is the most common curable sexually transmitted infection. It is caused by the protozoan parasite, Trichomonas vaginalis. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 3.7 million people have the infection. Joining me today to discuss this protozoa is Parasitology teacher and author of Parasites, Tales of Humanity’s Most Unwelcome […] The post Trichomonas vaginalis: The sexually transmitted parasite appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

On today’s show, we talk about schistosomiasis. Health authorities say more than 200 million people are infected worldwide and in terms of impact, this disease is second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease. My guest, Parasitology teacher and author of the book, Parasites: Tales of Humanity’s Most Unwelcome Guests, Rosemary Drisdelle joined me […] The post Schistosomiasis: In terms of impact, it’s second only to malaria as the most devastating parasitic disease appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Nurse practitioner and President and CEO of Passport Health of Tampa, Dr. Duellyn Pandis joined me in this interview from last summer to catch up on various topics of travel health and medicine. We discussed several travel destinations and the travel issues and advice for each. Dr. Pandis went over in detail the issue with the […] The post Travel health topics with Dr. Duellyn Pandis appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In this podcast, I pull out two interviews from the past couple years concerning organ donation. The first interview, from June 2016, I am joined by President and Founder of the Living Kidney Donors Network (LKDN) and two-time kidney transplant recipient, Harvey Mysel to discuss kidney paired donations, or paired exchanges and how they work. In the second interview, I […] The post Organ donation: Kidney paired donations, Donate Life Month appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In this January 2017 interview, Professor of Law at UC Hastings College of Law, Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, PhD joined me to discuss the types and issues of vaccine exemption, the role and purposes of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and the corresponding National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and other topics of vaccine law. Related:  Thoughts on the […] The post Vaccine law and exemptions appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Outbreaks of previously unknown viral and other diseases have the potential to inflict serious and massive negative health and economic impact on the world. A new program, a really big idea, is set to start this year and looks to stay one step ahead of this situation identifying viruses in advance and provide timely data for […] The post The Global Virome Project: Providing timely data to battle future pandemics appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

13-year old Olivia Goodreau has been living with Lyme disease for half her life. She joined me today to tell her story from the tick bite to a myriad of symptoms to visiting 51 doctors before being diagnosed with the tick-borne disease. Olivia also talked about her nonprofit organization, LivLyme Foundation, which supports the work of researchers and […] The post Lyme disease: Olivia’s story, the LivLyme Foundation and the TickTracker app appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

NSF International, a global public health and safety organization, is hosting Legionella Conference 2018 – Managing Legionella and Other Pathogens in Building Water Systems on May 9-11, 2018, in Baltimore, Maryland. The three-day conference is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and marks the first time experts from industry, academia, public health, medicine and government […] The post Legionella Conference 2018: Approaches for successfully preventing the spread of Legionella in buildings, hospitals and other at-risk facilities appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Nigeria is currently experiencing what is described as an “unprecedented outbreak” of Lassa fever. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and partners like the World Health Organization (WHO)are intensifying the outbreak response. So what is Lassa fever? I was joined by infectious disease physician, Dr Judy Stone in this Mar. 2016 interview to learn the […] The post Lassa fever: An interview with Dr Judy Stone appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

On today’s podcast, we ventured back into the world of trematodes, or flukes and discussed the sheep liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica. Parasitology teacher and author of the book, Parasites: Tales of Humanity’s Most Unwelcome Guests, Rosemary Drisdelle joined me to talk about this parasite. Podcasts on other flukes:  Dicrocoelium dendriticum: The lancet liver fluke Paragonimus: A look […] The post Fasciola hepatica: The sheep liver fluke appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

According to the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS), Medical laboratory science professionals, often called medical laboratorians, are vital healthcare detectives, uncovering and providing laboratory information from laboratory analyses that assist physicians in patient diagnosis and treatment, as well as in disease monitoring or prevention (maintenance of health). Professor and Program Chair for the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at […] The post The Medical Laboratory profession: A discussion with Dr Rodney Rohde appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

“If you induce a back of the envelope calculations given the hundreds of thousands of people who died every year of smallpox prior to when the campaign was started and looking at it now that its gone, D.A.’s work has saved literally tens of millions of lives. You can argue that he’s may of saved more […] The post Thoughts on the eradicator of smallpox: ‘You can argue that he’s may of saved more lives than any other single human being in human history’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In 2009, infectious disease physician and University of South Florida professor, Dr. Sandra Gompf and her husband lost their son Philip to the parasite , Naegleria fowleri. In this 2015 interview, Dr Gompf joined me to discuss the amoeba, Philip’s infection, awareness campaigns she is involved in, new developments at the time in diagnostics and treatment and some […] The post Naegleria fowleri: A personal story appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic–history’s worst epidemic which killed more people than all the military deaths in World War I and World War II combined. Historian and author of the book, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, John M. Barry joined me to discuss several […] The post The 1918 Influenza Pandemic: A short history and lessons learned appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

On today’s show we talke about a 3rd intestinal coccidian parasite and least common (remember we already discussed Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora), Cystoisospora belli, or you may remember it as Isospora belli. Joining me as always to talk about parasites is Parasitology teacher and author of the book, Parasites: Tales of Humanity’s Most Unwelcome Guests, Rosemary Drisdelle. Travel Deals […] The post Cystoisospora belli: The least common of the three intestinal coccidia appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Writer and author, Bob Arnebeck once wrote in A Short History of Yellow Fever in the US–From 1793 to 1822 yellow fever was one of the most dreaded diseases in the port cities of the United States. Statistically, one can dismiss it as inconsequential in comparison to tuberculosis and smallpox. Yellow fever did not kill that […] The post Yellow fever in the US: A short history appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

During 2005–2008, more than 1 billion live animals were legally imported into the United States for food or pet trade markets. One such animal, the swamp eel, can carry parasites (worms) called gnathostomes. If those eels are eaten undercooked or raw, this parasite can cause mild to serious (blindness, paralysis, and even death) consequences. This […] The post Gnathostomes and Asian swamp eels in the US appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

An average 274 people in the US die from blood clots each and every day, according to data on the National Blood Clot Alliance (NBCA) website. Former Chair of Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Hofstra-NorthShore/LIJ School of Medicine, Dr. Jack Ansell joined to discuss the most important medical issue. Dr. Ansell went through a number […] The post DVT and pulmonary embolism appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

What is a cannibal sandwich? A cannibal sandwich is by definition, raw ground beef typically served on rye bread or crackers with onions. Occasionally, a raw egg will be mixed with the meat. It is a traditional winter holiday specialty in certain regions of the upper Midwest. These are also called “tiger meat” sandwiches. In […] The post Cannibal sandwiches and the health risks appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In this radio interview from March 2015, my guest reminds us all that bedbugs are “still out there” despite the recent lack of media attention. Assistant professor of entomology at the Kansas State University Research and Extension Center, Sarah Zukoff, PhD joined me to answer some of the most common questions concerning these nuisance creatures: Where are bedbugs found?, […] The post Bedbugs 101: An interview with Sarah Zukoff, PhD appeared first on Outbreak News Today.