Infectious Diseases

Host: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP

Guest: Michael Cappello, MD

Parasitic infections have a major impact on the developing world. Their modes of transmission, treatments, and preventions vary widely: Whereas one parasitic infection is nearing eradication without the use of any drug therapy or vaccine, innovative approaches involving immunology, molecular biology and genetics may be required for the elimination of another. Dr. Michael Cappello, professor of pediatrics, microbial pathogenesis, and epidemiology and public health at the Yale School of Medicine, talks with host Dr. Jennifer Shu about what we have learned from these cases, and how these principles can be applied to help reduce other infectious diseases.

Host: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP

Guest: Jill Grimes, MD

There are 340 million cases of curable sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) each year around the world. In developing countries, STDs and their complications are among the top five disease categories for which adults seek healthcare. Dr. Jill Grimes, practicing board-certified family physician in Austin, Texas, and associate editor of the 5-Minute Clinical Consult textbook, joins host Dr. Jennifer Shu to discuss notable facts and figures in the common struggle with curable sexually transmitted diseases. What medical advances in the United States might help patients with STDs across the globe, and vice versa: what lessons in effective care overseas can we apply to our work in the United States?

Host: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP

Guest: Bruce Aylward, MD, MPH

Nearly 90 percent of poliomyelitis cases are found in Nigeria and India, two countries where the virus remains endemic. Poor vaccine coverage, especially in Nigeria, has contributed to the transmission of disease, but could a newly licensed monovalent vaccine help eliminate the virus in the region? Is this strategy applicable in India as well, and how does this all fit into the worldwide effort to eradicate poliovirus? Dr. Bruce Aylward, director of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative at the World Health Organization (WHO), probes these questions and more with host Dr. Jennifer Shu, as he lays out WHO plans to move us closer to conquering polio over the next several years.

Host: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP

Guest: Roland Sutter, MD, MPHTM

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working diligently to eliminate Type 1 poliovirus transmission in endemic countries around the world. Although progress has been made using the trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine, eradication remains elusive. Recent studies have examined the efficacy of a monovalent oral poliovirus vaccine given to newborns: could this monovalent vaccine bring us closer to eradicating poliomyelitis? Dr. Jennifer Shu welcomes Dr. Roland Sutter, coordinator of the research and product development team for the WHO's Global Polio Eradication Initiative, to detail his team's contributions to the evolving body of polio research.

Host: Mark Nolan Hill, MD

Guest: Michael Worobey, PhD

Previous estimates indicate that the earliest signs of HIV in humans appeared in Africa during the 1930s. Historical data indicates the disease made its way to Haiti, its first stop in the Western Hemisphere, and then eventually on to the United States. But we're learning that the disease may have circulated in Africa for decades before heading west. Does this new information about the origin of HIV offer any clues about the eventual demise of the virus? Dr. Michael Worobey, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, shares details of his research that traces the genesis of HIV/AIDS in humans to the turn of the 20th century. Find out more with host Dr. Mark Nolan Hill.

Host: Jay Goldstein, MD

Guest: David Peura, MD

Helicobacter pylori, often known as H. pylori, was discovered in the 1980s and is found worldwide in the stomachs of billions of people. H. pylori can cause gastritis and ulcers, but often presents no symptoms or problems for years. How concerned should we be about the stomach bacterium? Host Dr. Jay Goldstein discusses with Dr. David Peura, professor of medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, the extent to which H. pylori is still a health problem in the United States.

Host: Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP

Guest: Jay Berkelhamer, MD

Vaccines are one of our greatest public health successes, yet the nation's vaccine financing and delivery system is failing. The number of new vaccines advised for our young patients has nearly doubled in the last 5 years, just as the cost to fully immunize a child has increased substantially. Is our system broken beyond repair, or is relief in sight? Dr. Jay Berkelhamer, senior vice president and chief academic officer at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, joins host Dr. Jennifer Shu to talk about the pressing need for improvements in the mechanisms through which we pay and provide funding for vaccines.

Host: Maurice Pickard, MD

Guest: W. David Hardy, MD

Dr. David Hardy, director of infectious disease at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, emphasizes that we already have methods for prevention of the HIV epidemic, especially among gay men and African-Americans. He tells host Dr. Maurice Pickard that, if implemented, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new recommendation for testing, that does away with exceptionism, would go a long way towards diagnosing the 25 percent of cases in the United States that are not identified.

Host: Maurice Pickard, MD

Guest: W. David Hardy, MD

A new test to differentiate recent from older HIV infections may help experts more accurately track prevention programs. Host Dr. Maurice Pickard is joined by Dr. David Hardy, director of infectious disease at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Hardy talks about new statistics from the CDC indicating significant increase in the diagnosis of HIV and AIDS in young men and African-Americans.

Host: Cathleen Margolin, PhD

Guest: Matthew Golden, MD, MPH

Guest: James G. Hodge, Jr., JD, LL.M.

The CDC has suggested that expedited partner therapy for those with certain conditions such as sexually transmitted diseases is recommended. However, the act of providing medications or prescriptions without an exam or established relationship causes legal and professional concerns among physicians. What is the current legal situation for physicians providing expedited partner therapy? Join Dr. Cathleen Margolin as she talks with attorney James Hodge of the Center for Law and the Public’s Health / Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Dr. Matthew Golden, associate professor of medicine at University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Golden is also director of the STD Control Program for Public Health in Seattle and King Counties in Washington.