Outbreak News Radio

The COVID-19 outbreak is spreading and growing rapidly since first seen less than two months ago, prompting many governments, including the United States, to ban or significantly restrict travel to and from China.

While travel bans are frequently used to stop the spread of an emerging infectious disease, what do we know about their effectiveness?

Joining me today to look at this question is Lauren Sauer. Lauren is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine and director of operations with the university's Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response.

She is also a coauthor in a recent study published in the Journal of Emergency Management addressing this topic.

Nipah virus is one of the deadliest viruses, which can kill up to 90 percent of those infected. In fact, the World Health Organization has placed Nipah virus on its 10 "most wanted" list of emerging viruses.

Joining me today to talk more about Nipah virus and her research is Emily Gurley, PhD. Dr Gurley is an Associate Scientist with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Its been about a month since my last podcast on the novel coronavirus and I thought it was time to revisit the topic as it becomes a bigger global issue.

Joining me to talk about coronaviruses and the 2019 novel coronavirus is Rodney Rohde, PhD. Dr Rohde is a Professor Research Dean and Chair of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program (CLS) in the College of Health Professions of Texas State University.

Recently, scientists have detected Marburg virus in fruit bats in Sierra Leone, marking the first time the deadly virus has been found in West Africa.

The article was published in the journal, Nature Communications last week.

Joining me today to discuss Marburg virus and the discovery in Sierra Leone is Tracey Goldstein, PhD. Dr Goldstein is a Professor in the Department of Pathology, Immunology and Microbiology at UC Davis and Associate Director of the One Health Institute.

In 2019, we saw one of the worst years on record for dengue worldwide. Numbers were up in Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Joining me today from London to look at the past year in dengue, the progress with vaccines and 2020 and beyond is Kamran Rafiq. Kamran is the Co-Founder and Communications Director of the International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases (ISNTD).

The ISNTD are spearheading a global campaign calling on the WHO and the UN to ratify an official World DENGUE Day.

One Health is a term used frequently in recent years. If you're not familiar with the term, you've come to the right place.

Joining me to discuss One Health and a recent resolution passed by the US Senate is Cheryl M. Stroud, DVM, PhD. Dr Stroud is the Executive Director of the One Health Commission.

Wuhan City, China has been a focus for infectious disease and public health experts over the past month due to a pneumonia outbreak where the etiology is not quite clear.

News keeps trickling in on this outbreak, but there is still a lot unknown.

Hoping to shed some light on this outbreak today is Daniel Lucey, MD, MPH. Dr Lucey is a Senior Scholar with the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. He is also an adjunct Professor of Medicine-Infectious Diseases at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Last fall, a 44-year-old man from Italy was bitten on his right hand by an aggressive dog on the Island of Zanzibar, Tanzania.

The man did not receive any rabies vaccine before travelling. He got a rabies vaccine shortly after exposure, but no immunoglobulin, as it was not available.

He died from rabies after a 42 day hospital stay.

Joining me to talk about rabies and advice for travelers to high risk countries is Jonas Nilsen, MD.

Dr Nilsen is a travel vaccination specialist and cofounder of Practio-- a startup making high quality healthcare accessible for everyone. They do this by providing a technology platform that enables pharmacies to work as local healthcare hubs.

In this podcast, I look at what I believe are the top infectious disease stories of the last decade.