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 parasitology at Tulane University.

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. Related: Toxocara in the UK: A discussion with Dr Ian Wright […]

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 […]

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 today to talk about the malaria situation in Venezuela and these predictions is Leopoldo Villegas, MD.

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 the Crypto situation in the US, the parasite and disease, how you can prevent infection and spread and Crypto outside this country.

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 correctly to ensure that it is cooked well enough to eliminate pathogens and bacteria could prevent some illness.

A recent study from Purdue researchers show one major factor why people don't use thermometers is that celebrity chefs and others in the know rarely mention the importance of proper temperatures.

Joining me to look at this issue is Yaohua "Betty" Feng, PhD, Dr Feng is an Assistant Professor of Food Science at Purdue University.

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 almost instantly from a patient's single drop of blood.

Joining me today to discuss this quick DNA test is Mindy Leelawong. PhD. Dr Leelawong is a research assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University.