Emerging Infectious Diseases

Deaths related to Clostridium difficile are on the rise in the United States. Matthew Redelings from the Los Angeles County Department of Health discusses the increase and what can be done to prevent this infection.

Smallpox was eradicated more than 25 years ago, but live viruses used in vaccines may have survived to cause animal and human illness today. Dr. Inger Damon, Acting Branch Chief of the Poxvirus and Rabies Branch at CDC, discusses efforts to determine origins and spread of vaccinia viruses in Brazil.

US consumers were warned not to eat raw spinach during a 2006 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, but additional warnings about person-to-person transmission could have reduced bacteria spread. Dr. Martin Meltzer discusses the research methods and findings and the authors' success in presenting them clearly and accurately.

Three organ transplant recipients died from infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), which was traced back to a hamster owned by the daughter of the organ donor. Dr. Brian Amman, a mammalogist with the Special Pathogens Branch at CDC, discusses the dangers LCMV may pose to people with immune disorders, as well as to pregnant women.

Industrialized countries have contained recent zoonotic disease outbreaks, but countries with limited resources cannot respond adequately. Dr. Nina Marano, veterinarian and Chief, Geographic Medicine and Health Promotion Branch, CDC, comments on the focus on animal reservoirs to prevent outbreaks in developing nations.

Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) outbreaks have been reported in South Africa, and strains have been identified on 6 continents. Dr. Peter Cegielski, team leader for drug-resistant TB with the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination at CDC, comments on a multinational team's report on this emerging global public health threat.

Malaria prevention is increasingly insecticide based. Dr. John Gimnig, an entomologist with the Division of Parasitic Diseases, CDC, discusses evidence that mosquito resistance to insecticides, which is measured in the laboratory, could compromise malaria prevention in the field.

Cryptococcus gattii, a rare fungus normally found in the tropics, has infected people and animals on Vancouver Island, Canada. Dr. David Warnock, Director, Division of Foodborne, Bacterial, and Mycotic Diseases, CDC, discusses public health concerns about further spread of this organism

Bats are a natural reservoir for emerging viruses, among them henipaviruses and rabies virus variants. Dr. Nina Marano, Chief, Geographic Medicine and Health Promotion Branch, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, CDC, explains connection between horseshoe bats and SARS coronavirus transmission.

Survey participants in the United Kingdom admitted keeping leftover antimicrobial drugs for future use and taking them without medical advice. Dr. J. Todd Weber, director of CDC's Office of Antimicrobial Resistance, advises against the practice, which can be dangerous and can promote antimicrobial drug resistance.