Outbreak News Radio

Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated numbers of measles cases in the United States and through May 10, 839 measles cases have been reported in 23 states. This is an increase of 75 cases from the previous week. This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1994 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000. A number of outbreaks have been...

On this week's Outbreak News This Week Radio Show, I had the opportunity to spend the whole hour discussing the three most commonly diagnosed free-living amoeba species that infect humans:  Naegleria fowleri, Acanthamoeba species, and Balamuthia mandrillaris, with someone with expertise in infectious diseases and the unique perspective of a parent that lost a child to one of these lethal parasites...

Bioterrorism expert and Senior lecturer at Western New England University in Springfield, Lawrence Roberge, PhD joined me on the show to look at the history of bioterrorism--from antiquity to contemporary times.

The parasitic disease, Chagas disease, and the vector, the kissing bug, have been in US media a lot recently after the CDC published an MMWR about finding the bug in Delaware. My guest today is currently conducting survey work in Oklahoma to estimate the prevalence of T. cruzi infection in domestic dogs and kissing bugs within the state. Joining me to talk about Chagas disease, the kissing bug and...

On this weeks program, I take a look a the surge of dengue fever cases in the Americas and southeast Asia. A primer of dengue fever and severe dengue is also introduced. Measles does not just have individual health implications, but a measles investigation can be very expensive in terms of manpower and dollars and cents. I look at this. A little update on the hepatitis A outbreak in Florida, incre...

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that a slow-growing variant form of Lyme bacteria caused severe symptoms in a mouse model, which may account for the persistent symptoms seen in up to twenty percent of Lyme patients that are not cured by the current Lyme antibiotic regimen. In addition, they also found that these "persister" Lyme bacteria were resistant to s...

Pan-resistant superbugs, world travel, a love story and the use of a virus to treat a life-threatening infection--and its all absolutely true. The makings of a great book. On this week's program, I am joined by the authors of The Perfect Predator: A Scientist's Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug: A Memoir, Steffanie Strathdee and Tom Patterson. During the segment we look at the timeli...

The University of Michigan health blog recently reported on a Acanthamoeba case in a Lansing , Michigan woman. She was initially diagnosed as having pink eye; however, things got worse and after going to six doctors, she was referred to the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center where she was diagnosed with the parasitic infection. Joining me today to talk about Acanthamoeba and this case is Sh...

This week, Sepsis Alliance launched Pediatric Sepsis Week to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of sepsis in children and to recognize the tens of thousands of children that develop sepsis every year in the U.S. Joining me today to talk about pediatric sepsis and the importance of this week is Niranjan Kissoon, MD. Dr Kissoon is Vice-President of Medical Affairs at BC Children's Hospital an...

Virology blog was the first science website I followed, its been quite a few years now and it was an inspiration to me in using the internet to disseminate information on infectious diseases and up-to-date outbreak news. Because of my guest today, I saw real value in this type of reporting or blogging. He is a pioneer in science communication online, podcasting and generally disseminating very imp...

April 21 marks the beginning of Lab Week 2019, an annual celebration of medical laboratory professionals who play a vital role in health care and patient advocacy! Joining me today to discuss the medical laboratory profession and the importance of this week is Associate Dean for Research, College of Health Professions & Chair & Professor of Clinical Laboratory Science at Texas State University , R...

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is arguably the most common, preventable cause of neonatal disability in the United States, affecting more than 30,000 children a year. My guest today started a Change.org petition advocating for congenital CMV to be added to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP). Here to talk more about CMV, the petition and the work of the National CMV Foundati...

On this weekends show I look at the most controversial news story of the past week--the public health emergency in select zip codes in the neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn in light of the rapidly growing measles outbreak primarily among the Orthodox Jewish community. In addition, the health order says unvaccinated individuals living in those ZIP codes who may have been exposed to measles wil...

This morning, I was a guest for a segment on the Venezuela health and outbreak crisis on the Captain's America: Third Watch with Capt. Matt Bruce. During the ~7-8 minute segment, I discussed the outbreaks of the vaccine-preventable diseases, measles and diphtheria and the vector-borne disease, malaria affecting Venezuela and other countries in the region.

Since 2014, some media and radio personalities have attributed the increase in Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) cases in the US to immigrant children from Central America. The latest was a segment last week on the Savage Nation with Michael Savage, a very popular talk radio program. What is EV-D68 and is it an imported disease from immigrant children? I look at this in this latest installment in the Infec...

The hepatitis A outbreak in Florida is growing and in this news brief I look at the latest numbers and talk about the vaccine.

Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania government warned the public that as the weather gets warmer and you spend more time outdoors, be aware of ticks and Lyme disease. Pennsylvania has reported the ticks that carry Lyme disease and other infectious agents in all 67 counties and has reported at or near the top of all states in the US in Lyme disease cases. Nationally, Lyme disease cases continue to...

On this weekends Outbreak News This Week Radio show, I spend the first half talking to World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson for polio eradication, Oliver Rosenbauer. During the interview, Mr Rosenbauer discusses some history on polio, including the introduction of the vaccine, the different vaccines and the purposes and differences and the situation and difficulties as we get closer to era...

Chronic wasting disease, or CWD is a prion disease that affects several cervid species: deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose. It has been found in some areas of North America, including three provinces in Canada and at least 26 states. My guest today has expressed concern that it is probable that human cases of CWD associated with the consumption of contaminated meat will be documented in the...

The Asian Longhorned Tick made its appearance in the United States recently and has since been found in a number of states. The emergence of these ticks represent a potential threat for livestock, wildlife, and human health, according to experts. In a new study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers say the infestation in Staten Island, NY is far more advanced than previously known...

On Sunday's show I look at the recent news from Rockland County, New York where the County Executive, Ed Day declared a county wide State of Emergency, which effectively banned all unvaccinated people 18 years and younger from entering public places for 30 days or until they get vaccinated. I also looked at the legal implications referring to a Healio interview with vaccine law expert, Brian Dean...

Organ donation and transplantation has been a medical miracle in saving lives; however, the number of organs available are not nearly enough. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), 113,602 people need a lifesaving organ transplant. Donate Life America says another person is added to the waiting list every 10 minutes and sadly, 22 people die each day because the organ they need i...

In this 2015 interview from the radio show, I talk to the owner at TickEase, Inc., Daniel "Tick Man Dan" Wolff who gives a primer on ticks, including tick prevention and removal.

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the Ten threats to global health in 2019 and among the ten is vaccine hesitancy. WHO states: Vaccine hesitancy – the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines – threatens to reverse progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective ways of avoiding disease – it...

On a recent episode of Outbreak News TV, international public health expert and author, Glenn Laverack, PhD spoke to me about the issue and challenges of dealing with disease outbreaks in slum settings.