Outbreak News Interviews

Pertussis, or whooping cough cases have been on the rise in many places of the world this year, and the Philippines is one of those countries.

During the first three months of the year, Philippines health officials have reported well over 1,100 cases, which is a more than 30 fold increase over the same period in 2023.

In addition more than 50 deaths have been reported, all in young children

Here to talk more about pertussis and the situation in the Philippines is Edsel Salvana, MD. Dr Salvana is Director and Professor, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila.

A vaccine against the bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei, that causes melioidosis was tested in a mouse study and found to be highly protective against the disease, according to UCLA researchers.

What is Burkholderia pseudomallei? What is melioidosis? And what about this vaccine study?

Joining me today to answer these questions and more is Marcus Horwitz, MD. Dr Horwitz is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine, in the division of infectious diseases, and of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is also the senior author of the paper on this vaccine in the journal mBio.

It's not a worm, it's a fungus among us. Today's topic is ringworm.

Joining me today is Regents Professor of Clinical Laboratory Science at Texas State University and author of an article published in The Conversation last year, but a topic still worth discussing.

Ringworm fungal infections are common in the US and are becoming increasingly resistant to treatment

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that norovirus infections are sweeping the United States.

While all regions have seen an uptick, the Northeast region is being hit particularly hard.

So what is norovirus and how can you protect yourself?

Joining me today to look at these questions and more is Adriana Glenn, PhD. Dr. Glenn is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at George Washington University.

Glaucoma affects over 3 million people in the United States and is often called the “silent thief of sight” because it robs people of vision slowly and without early symptoms. January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, a great time to emphasize the importance of regular eye check-ups for early detection of glaucoma and other eye diseases.

Joining me today to discuss the ABC’s of glaucoma and the importance of this awareness month is Dr. Laura Sperazza. Dr. Sperazza is the Director of Vision Rehabilitation Services at Lighthouse Guild.

A few weeks ago, Alaska health officials reported the first fatality due to an Alaskapox infection, the first such known case.

On today's show, we'll dive into the ABC's of Alaskapox with Bradley Perkins, MD. Dr. Perkins is the Chief Medical Officer at Karius.

In addition, he is a former top CDC official who led the anthrax bioterrorism investigation. He was also a leading expert in the more recent monkeypox, or mpox outbreak.

Check out the work being done at Karius

In 2024 to date, dozens of measles cases have already been reported from multiple states herein the US, according to the CDC.

And cases are increasing worldwide as the World Health Organization announced recently reporting more than 300,000 cases in 2023, a 79% increase from the year prior.

My guest today writes about measles and immune amnesia: The risk associated with measles infection is much greater than the sum of its observable symptoms. The immune memories that you have acquired are priceless, built over many years and from countless exposures to a menagerie of germs. Measles virus is especially dangerous because it has the ability to destroy what’s been earned: immune memory from previous infections.

Joining me today to talk about measles, the importance of vaccination and immune amnesia is Ashley Hagen, MS. Ashley is the Scientific and Digital Editor for the American Society for Microbiology and host of ASM's Microbial Minutes and Meet the Microbiologist.

Show notes:

Meet the Microbiologist

Measles and Immune Amnesia

In 2016, Robert Toulson-Burke traveled with some friends to southeast Asia for a vacation-an exciting thing for sure-however things went bad over there as the young man died from dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Joining me today to tell Bob's story is his mother, Jayne Toulson-Burke. Jayne is also an ambassador for the World Mosquito Programme and is fully passionate with teaching others about the dangers and risks of dengue.

My guest today asks the question, "What will the new year bring to our shores, our cities, and our homes? ", concerning emerging pathogens in an article recently published in Today’s Clinical Lab.

Well, let’s see what he has to say about this topic today here on the show.

Joining me today in Rodney Rohde, PhD. Dr. Rohde is the Chair of the Medical Laboratory Science Program (MLS) in the College of Health Professions at Texas State University.

My guest today focuses her research on why diseases occur and how those diseases influence wildlife populations. One example is chronic wasting disease, or CWD, a fatal condition that is now affecting cervid populations, including deer, elk and moose throughout Michigan and other states.

This will be the topic of this podcast.

Joining me now is Sonja Christensen, Ph.D. Dr Christensen is an assistant professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife in Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.