Outbreak News Radio

Bangladesh is experiencing the worst dengue outbreak, which has spread to all 64 districts in the country. In July 2019, there were more cases reported than in any full year. In this podcast, I look at the situation a little closer, the numbers, the serotypes, and the protests and criticisms of the government response.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus, a mosquitoborne flavivirus, is the most common vaccine-preventable cause of encephalitis in Asia. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published updated recommendations from it's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the JE vaccine. Joining me today to discuss JE, the vaccine, travel and the updated recommendations is Su...

Last week in the journal, mBio, a team of experts issued a new call to action, urging state and federal entities to immediately fund research and develop new diagnostic tests targeting chronic wasting disease, or CWD. Joining me to discuss this issue is the director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Michael Osterholm, PhD.

In a recent, very important article published in Foreign Policy, my guest Laurie Garrett writes about how the World Bank was holding back funds to tackle the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An issue not very well known until her article. To look at this situation and more is Laurie Garrett. Laurie is a former fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations and...

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a one-year Phase I Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant for $225,000 in funding to Enable Biosciences to develop an improved Lyme disease test. Columbia and Tulane universities are sub-awardees of the grant. Joining me today to discuss this work is Monica Embers, Ph. D., Dr Embers is an assistant professor of bacteriology and parasito...

It's Cyclospora season in the United States as evidenced by an increasing number of outbreaks and clusters reported in recent weeks. In this podcast, I look at some publicized outbreaks and the work that people are doing to try to minimize these parasitic outbreaks.

Bolivia is investigating an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever, which based on preliminary lab testing indicate the Arenavirus, Chapare virus. In this podcast, I look at the current situation, the transmission, a study on the first such outbreak in 2003 and the CDC's travel advisory.

Last Monday, Philippines Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III declared a National Dengue Alert as the number continue to rise in many regions of the archipelago. On today's news brief I look at the latest numbers for dengue in the country, the increases in costs incurred by the national health care system and states of calamity being declared from provinces in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

In February this year, a consortium of five global health organizations reported over 1.3 million malaria cases during 2018, much higher than numbers produced by the Venezuelan Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Now these organizations are predicting the malaria situation will only get worse, forecasting 2.5 million malaria cases in Venezuela in 2020. Joining me to...

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that showed outbreaks of Cryptosporidium (Crypto) in the United States increased an average 13% each year from 2009-2017. On today's podcast, Joseph Eisenberg, Ph. D., M.P.H., chair of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health joined me to talk about th...

Foodborne illness is a significant public health issue in the United States. One of every six Americans is affected by foodborne pathogens. Foodborne illness also creates a big economic burden to the United States with tens of billions of dollars in losses. Temperature control is essential to prevent the rapid growth of foodborne pathogens during storage. Preparing food using thermometers correctl...

According to the World Malaria Report, there were 219 million cases of malaria globally during 2017, resulting in 435,000 malaria deaths. Drug resistance poses one of the greatest threats to malaria control and results in increased malaria morbidity and mortality. Vanderbilt University biomedical engineers have discovered how to rapidly detect critical information about malaria drug resistance alm...

The World Economic Forum believes pandemics could cause a $570 billion annual loss to the global economy.  Recently, the Leader in Epidemic Risk Modeling, Metabiota, released a free tool for tracking events that could impact human and economic health. I t's called the Metabiota Epidemic Tracker, a free, new platform to view, analyze and understand events that could impact people, industries and na...

Legionnaires' disease is a serious type of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. Legionella can also cause a milder illness called Pontiac fever. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), some 6100 Legionnaires' disease cases were reported in 2016; however, this number is undoubtedly low due to under-diagnosis. People can get sick when they breathe in mist or accidental...

On today's show I'm going to look at one of my favorite topics--rabies. And I'm honored to have my two guests today, both returning guests. Pamela Wilson and Dr Rodney Rohde have teamed up to write a comprehensive look at many aspects of rabies--clinical signs and symptoms, epidemiology, lab testing, post exposure prophylaxis and even a little about rabies myths. The title of the book is Rabies- C...

Since August 2018, an Ebola Virus Disease outbreak has raged in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, their 10th outbreak and the 2nd largest ever. Earlier this week the disease spilled over into neighboring Uganda. Joining me to discuss this and other topics related to Ebola is Mark Kortepeter, MD, Dr Kortepeter is a Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Nebraska College of Public He...

On this podcast, I wanted to look at the once common, highly contagious disease, chickenpox. Joining me today to answer some questions about chickenpox is Donald Kaye, MD. Dr Kaye is  Professor of Medicine at the Drexel University College of Medicine. He is also an Associate Editor at the website, ProMED-mail.

Earlier this week in Lakeland, FL, I attended an educational program and panel on Alzheimer's disease--research, risk prevention and other topics were addressed. The event was hosted by the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. My guest on the show today is one of the expert panelists. Joining me today is Phil Sabel, M.A. Phil is the Clinical Research Coordinator at Axiom Clin...

Do you like science and medicine? Do you like history? On today's show, you'll get a great dose of both. I talk to the author of the very informative book, Between Hope and Fear: A History of Vaccines and Human Immunity, Michael Kinch, PhD. Dr. Kinch is a professor and Vice Chancellor at Washington University in St. Louis. He has experience developing new medicines for Ebola, Marburg, influenza an...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports since the hepatitis A outbreaks were first identified in 2016, more than 17,000 cases and 170 deaths as a result of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection have been reported. Last year, Florida became one of the 20-something states reporting an outbreak and so far this year, the numbers continue to rise. What is hepatitis A and what is the si...

June 1st is just around the corner--the start of hurricane season. Are you ready? What should you do to prepare? Joining me today to offer some advice and tips in Mike Coston. Mike writes about preparedness often on his website, Avian Flu Diary.

New research from the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) gives people and their health care providers a way to assess their risk for Lyme disease, thanks to man's best friend. The study confirms dogs are sentinels to assess human risk for tick-borne Lyme disease. The study is published in the journal, Geospatial Health. Joining me to discuss the study and it's uses is Dr. Craig Prior. Dr. Pr...

May is Myositis Awareness Month and on today's show I want to take a look at these rare conditions and the importance of this month. In addition, there is a new analysis on how myositis affects woman of color that we'll discuss.  Joining me to look at these issues and more is Dr. Cheilonda Johnson. Dr. Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a pulmon...

On the latest Outbreak News This Week, I look at news from Florida and then expand to national and international news, and a little research.

Earlier this week, research was published in the journal, Nature Microbiology, which has newly published maps that reveal, for the first time, where anthrax poses global risks to people, livestock and wildlife. The maps are the result of 15 years of data collection covering 70 countries. Joining me today to discuss this work and it's importance is the lead author, Jason Blackburn, PhD. Dr. Blackbu...