Outbreak News Interviews

In this episode in the series, Parasites 101, I talk to Parasitology teacher and author of the book, Parasites: Tales of Humanity’s Most Unwelcome Guests, Rosemary Drisdelle about the protozoa Cryptosporidiosis (or “Crypto” for short). Rosemary answers the question, “How common is it”, along with discussing the symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment of the parasite. […] The post The parasite best known as ‘Crypto’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In recent weeks, two high profile individuals– a televangelist and the newly appointed Health commissioner of Milwaukee, WI–made very troubling anti-vaccine statements that garnered critiques by health experts. Charismatic televangelist Gloria Copeland basically told followers to skip the flu shot in favor of prayer and Milwaukee’s new Health commissioner, Dr Patricia McManus, the person responsible for […] The post Troubling statements about vaccines: Gloria Copeland and Milwaukee’s Patricia McManus appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

According to Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), a food allergy is a serious and potentially life-threatening medical condition affecting up to 15 million Americans. One in every 13 children has a food allergy—that’s about 2 in every U.S. classroom. And every 3 minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency room. Scott Riccio, […] The post Food allergies: An interview with Scott Riccio appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The Lupus Foundation of America says lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body.  Their research estimates that at least 1.5 million Americans have lupus. The actual number may be higher; however, there have been no large-scale studies to show the actual number of people in the U.S. living with lupus. […] The post Lupus: An interview with Amy Yalden appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Lyme disease was first described in the US in 1975– it’s a vector borne illness caused the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. It is transmitted to humans primarily by the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis and other species. Is the Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma americanum, also a vector of the Lyme bacteria? My guest today says it is not. Ellen […] The post Lone star ticks do not transmit the Lyme bacteria: Entomologist appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The CDC Yellow Book says the number of people traveling internationally has continued to grow substantially in the past decade. According to the World Tourism Organization, there were 1.2 billion worldwide international tourist arrivals in 2015, an increase of 4% from 2013; 50 million more people spent a night at an international destination than in […] The post Travel health: Philippines appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Last week it was reported in a number of media outlets that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be dramatically downsizing its epidemic prevention activities in 39 out of 49 countries because money is running out–That money is slated to run out by September 2019. The program is called the Global Health […] The post CDC: Lack of funding threatens the Global Health Security Agenda, What are the implications? appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In this June 2016 interview, I talk to the author of Lyme Madness: Rescuing My Son Down The Rabbit Hole of Chronic Lyme Disease, Lori Dennis about the book, chronic Lyme disease and the multi-layers of issues surrounding it. In addition to being a writer, Lori is a Registered Psychotherapist and the mother of an adult son who […] The post Lyme Madness: An interview with Lori Dennis appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In this podcast, that was actually recorded in early November 2014, I started by giving some thoughts on Ebola in the US. This segwayed into a discussion with Associate Professor with the Department of Biostatistics, Environmental Health Sciences, and Epidemiology at Kent State University’s College of Public Health, Tara Smith, PhD. Dr. Smith addressed topics of how […] The post Flashback: Discussing the West Africa Ebola outbreak (Circa 2014) appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Taenia solium is a tapeworm that people get from eating raw or undercooked “measly pork”. The pork meat has cysticerci (the larval stage) which in the human intestine mature to an adult tapeworm. Here the tapeworm attaches to the intestine and produces thousands of eggs. Human cysticercosis occurs either by the direct transfer of Taenia […] The post Pork tapeworm and cysticercosis appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

My guest on today’s podcast says that while there were many successes in human development in 2017, arguably, the most significant achievements of the last 12 months were in global health. Public health physician and a vaccinologist, Dr Melvin Sanicas wrote in an article in Project Syndicate that he counted at least 18 unique successes in […] The post India eliminating trachoma and other global health successes in 2017 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

This podcast is from a February 2015 radio interview with Sybil Meister. Sybil is the mother of  Koral Reef Meister Pier, a young lady from California who contracted the rarely encountered parasite, Balamuthia mandrillaris in March 2013. Unfortunately, Koral lost her battle against the 95% fatal amoeba in Oct. 2014. I had the opportunity and honor to talk to Sybil and […] The post Balamuthia mandrillaris: Koral Reef’s story appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The internet has been flooded by every possible news source covering a story about a man, who claimed he ate sushi daily, who presented to his doctor a 5 ½ ft long tapeworm. This is from a podcast called “This won’t hurt a bit” where a Fresno California physician told the story. What was this parasite […] The post Raw sushi’s microbial risks: The worms and germs appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Sadly, as many of you may know, a 6-year-old Eustis, Florida boy lost his battle with rabies earlier this week after contracting the lethal virus through a scratch from a bat. A Orlando hospital and the team of providers attempted the experimental Milwaukee protocol in an attempt to save his life but unfortunately it fell […] The post Rabies: What should you do if you’re exposed? appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Last year, CIDRAP Director Michael Osterholm, PhD along with Mark Olshaker released the very interesting and relevant book, Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs. I talked to “Bad News Mike” last April on the radio show about some of the most important public health issues addressed in the book to include bioterrorism, vaccines, antibiotic resistance and pandemic […] The post Bioterrorism, antibiotic resistance and pandemic flu: Discussing ‘Deadliest Enemy’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

It is estimated that as many as 1 in 200 children are affected by PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections), according to the PANDAS Network. In this Feb. 2016 interview, Executive Director for the PANDAS Network, JC Konecny joined me to talk about PANDAS and PANS, the course of the illness, and the diagnosis and treatment of this […] The post PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Many experts say a flu pandemic is clearly on the horizon, so the question is–  Are we ready for a flu pandemic? My guest today says- not so much -as he outlined in a NY Times op-ed earlier this week. CIDRAP director,  Michael Osterholm PhD joined me to discuss his views on why he believes […] The post The flu pandemic clock is ticking: Are we ready? appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Taeniasis is a parasitic disease due to infection with tapeworms belonging to the genus Taenia. Three tapeworm species cause taeniasis in humans, Taenia solium, Taenia saginata and Taenia asiatica. On today’s show, I will be talking to my guest, Parasitology teacher, author and friend of the show, Rosemary Drisdelle about the beef tapeworm, Taenia saginata. Parasites: Tales of Humanity’s […] The post Taenia saginata: The beef tapeworm appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The latest report from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative shows that 21 wild poliovirus cases were reported in 2017 from two countries–Afghanistan and Pakistan. The question some are asking is –Is 2018 the year we make history and see zero cases of polio? Rotary International has been integral in this amazing success in the battle […] The post Rotary International and the battle against polio appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Fads and movements on what we do and don’t put in our bodies seem to plague the US and latest one has originated out of California. There has been a huge demand in Silicon Valley for very expensive “raw water”. Raw water is supposedly unfiltered, untreated, unsterilized spring water according to a NY Times report. […] The post Raw water: ‘In defiance of everything science tells us’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.