Outbreak News Interviews

In this podcast from a Outbreak News This Week Radio Show interview from Jun. 2016, we examine the ABCs of the extremely contagious viral disease, measles. I am joined by registered nurse, infection control specialist and a freelance writer, Erin Archer Kelser. Erin discusses the history of measles in the United States, symptomology, complications, the vaccine and […] The post Measles: The ABCs of this very contagious viral disease appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

The successes of vaccines in the battle with infectious diseases is quite clear with the dramatic drop in measles deaths, the elimination of smallpox and the near elimination of polio, just to name a few. However, there is a growing anti-vaccine movement despite this and my guest, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at […] The post The growing anti-vaccine movement: A discussion with Dr Peter Hotez appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Antibiotic resistance, Sexually transmitted diseases,Vaccine preventable diseases and septic shock. These important infectious disease topics and others were featured in a recent “Year-in-review”article on Forbes entitled, Infectious Disease Roundup 2017 — The Year In Review . The author, infectious disease physician Judy Stone, MD, joined me to give her thoughts– scientific, medical and political– on these issues. Read […] The post Infectious diseases Year-in-review 2017 with Dr Judy Stone appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Nearly one year ago, an infectious disease physician named Dr. Steven Beutler wrote a piece in the New Republic where he asked the speculative question–Many mental health professionals believe the president is ill. But what if the cause is an untreated STD? In a Feb. 2017 interview from the radio show, infectious disease physician, Amesh Adalja, MD joined […] The post The Donald Trump neurosyphilis article: Should a physician comment on this from a distance? appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is caused by a dangerous tick-borne virus, (Nairovirus) of the Bunyaviridae family, that is endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asian countries south of the 50th parallel north – the geographical limit of the principal tick vector. In Sept. 2016, we reported on the first local transmission of the tick-borne infection, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic […] The post Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever: Increasing spread predicted appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Syphilis numbers are growing around the US and around the world as more and more states and countries release data.  In this interview from Apr. 2016, I speak to the Director of Communications for the American Sexual Health Association/National Cervical Cancer Coalition, Fred Wyand to discuss the syphilis situation. We go over the ABC’s of syphilis, why […] The post A syphilis primer appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In this podcast, I pulled out a radio interview from the 4th of July 2016 weekend where the discussion was on foodborne parasites found in the United States. I was joined by microbiologist and the man behind the website, Parasitology Illustrated, Wilson Vientos. We spent at least a half hour talking about the Centers for Disease Control […] The post Foodborne parasites in the US appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

In this podcast episode, originally from the Outbreak News This Week Radio Show in Mar. 2017, I look at the rare condition, usually brought on by medications or infections, Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) with a person that actually went through this painful immune-complex–mediated hypersensitivity complex. Donna Rushing of Tampa was diagnosed with SJS one year ago and talks about the […] The post Stevens-Johnson Syndrome: A personal story appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

About three years ago, the website, VacTruth.com published an article entitled, “10 Reasons Not To Vaccinate”, which laid out such arguments like “Vaccine do NOT work”, “Are vaccines cause a host of ‘chronic, incurable, and life threatening diseases’? and “Vaccines have never been proven safe or effective”. The theme of my Jan. 2015 interview with Director of the […] The post Anti-vaccine arguments rebutted appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

According to the USGS, White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent fungal disease of hibernating bats that has spread from the northeastern to the central United States at an alarming rate. Since the winter of 2007-2008, millions of insect-eating bats in 31 states and five Canadian provinces (as of September 2017) have died from this devastating disease. Bat Conservation International Director […] The post Bats, White-nose syndrome and Bat Conservation International appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States with some 200,000 cases reported annually. It is an autoimmune disorder in which antibodies directed against the thyroid gland lead to chronic inflammation. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis occurs most commonly in middle aged women, but can be seen at […] The post Hashimoto’s disease Q & A appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

According to a paper published in AIMS Public Health earlier this year–We estimate the number of lives saved and morbidity reduction associated with the discovery of the first human cell strain used for the production of licensed human virus vaccines, known as WI-38. The diseases studied include poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (chicken pox), herpes […] The post Vaccine history: Cell strain WI-38 appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Lyme disease is one of the most common infectious diseases in the United States with about 329,000 new cases each year, according to statistics released in 2015 by the CDC. Lyme disease is a potentially disabling infection caused by bacteria transmitted through the bite of an infected tick to people and pets. The efficacy and accepted regimen […] The post Lyme disease: New research on Borrelia burgdorferi persistence appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Naegleria fowleri is a protozoan parasite , more specifically an amoeba. This lethal parasite is commonly referred to as the “brain eating amoeba” in mainstream media. It is generally considered a rare cause of human infections in the US with a handful of cases (2-3) reported annually on average, almost universally fatal. However, researchers in […] The post Naegleria fowleri: Study on death estimates, treatment success and the northward expansion of infections appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

What is health promotion and what is its role and importance in disease outbreaks? Author of the new book, Health Promotion in Disease Outbreaks and Health Emergencies, Glenn Laverack, PhD joined me on the show to answer these questions and more. He discussed the role of community involvement, communications and social media in a health emergency. In […] The post Outbreaks and the role of health promotion appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Tens of millions of animals are used for scientific and commercial research in the US that benefits humans and animals alike. Despite the obvious benefits, animal research draws much criticism in some circles with the most common argument revolving around the case that it is cruel and inhumane. Director, Center for Comparative Medicine at the Baylor College of […] The post Animal research: The benefits, the regulations and the reality appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Meningitis is an inflammation or swelling of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord.  It can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Bacterial meningitis is very serious and potentially deadly. In recent weeks we’ve reported on cases on college campuses like Oregon State University and UMass Amherst. In addition, we’ve seen outbreaks in […] The post Bacterial meningitis and vaccinations: A discussion with Dr. Leonard Friedland appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

Dracunculus medinensis. The “fiery serpent”. Guinea worm. It is set to become the second human disease in history, after smallpox, to be eradicated. It will be the first parasitic disease to be eradicated and the first disease to be eradicated without the use of a vaccine or medicine. Joining me to discuss this parasite is Parasitology […] The post Guinea worm disease: A discussion about the ‘fiery serpent’ appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

A measles outbreak investigation can be a very expensive task as was demonstrated in the Minnesota outbreak earlier this year when some 79 mostly children were infected costing the health department $2.3 million during the five-month outbreak. Recently in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), an analysis was published looking at the Public Health […] The post The cost of measles: A CDC review appeared first on Outbreak News Today.

On today’s show we will be talking about a trematode or fluke that is not seen often in humans, but is fascinating just the same Dicrocoelium dendriticum, or the lancet liver fluke. Joining me to lend her expertise in answering questions about this flatworm is Parasitology teacher and author of Parasites: Tales of Humanity’s Most Unwelcome […] The post Dicrocoelium dendriticum: The lancet liver fluke appeared first on Outbreak News Today.