Outbreak News Radio

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.

The Sexually Transmitted Infections,chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are pervasive and increasing rapidly in the U.S.

New evidence suggests that the antibiotic doxycycline could help prevent the spread of some bacterial infections if taken as post exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

Joining me today to look at these proposed guidelines is Christopher Foltz, MD. Dr Foltz is an infectious disease specialist at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

Leishmaniasis is a protozoan parasitic disease transmitted by a sandfly that most Americans are unfamiliar with; however, my guest today says it is more common in the United States than most people realize- with both locally acquired and imported cases being reported.

What is leishmaniasis and what is the situation like in the US?

Here to shed light on these questions and more is Naomi Aronson, MD. Dr. Aronson is a Professor of Medicine and Director, Infectious Diseases Division at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, MD.

Leishmaniasis in the United States: Emerging Issues in a Region of Low Endemicity

Bangladesh is battling to control its most devastating dengue fever outbreak recorded since the dengue virus reappeared in the country in 2000,

Although dengue is endemic in Bangladesh, this year's outbreak is unusual in terms of case burden, mortality and seasonality.

The record season has seen more than 250,000 cases to date, including a global leading 1255 deaths. Both numbers easily exceed previous records in Bangladesh significantly.

So what is the on the ground situation in Bangladesh, why is it so bad this year and what is being done to get the epidemic under control?

Today's guest will shed some light on the record breaking dengue outbreak of 2023.

Joining me today is Dr. Md Rafiul Hasan , Dr Hasan is with the Government Health Department of Bangladesh, a field epidemiologist and actively involved in working to manage the outbreak.

Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic, viral disease affecting the central nervous system. Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is virtually 100% fatal, and treatment is typically supportive.

It causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in Asia and Africa. Currently, there is no validated treatment in humans that prevents death following symptomatic rabies, however my guest today and his colleagues at the Uniformed Services University (USU) have made a significant breakthrough which may have changed that.

Joining me today to discuss this rabies therapy is Brian Schaefer PhD, Dr Schaefer is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Uniformed Services University (USU) in Bethesda, MD.

He also holds secondary appointments as Professor in the following USU graduate (Ph.D.) programs: Emerging Infectious Diseases; Molecular and Cell Biology; and Neuroscience.

The study: mAb therapy controls CNS-resident lyssavirus infection via a CD4 T cell-dependent mechanism