Outbreak News Radio

In my series of short interviews with the experts presenting at the 4th Annual Amoeba Summit, I look at the topic of laboratory diagnosis.

Medical Technologist at AdventHealth in Orlando as the person that found the amoeba in Sebastian DeLeon's CSF, Shiela Black, MHM, BSMT(ASCP) joins me to recount the day in 2016, the call to the physician and some basics on laboratory diagnosis.

In the summer of 2016, then 16-year-old Florida teen, Sebastian DeLeon wound up in a Orlando hospital diagnosed with primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) due to the parasite, Naegleria fowleri.

In this short interview from the 4th Annual Amoeba Summit sponsored by the Jordan Smelski Foundation, I spoke to a physician directly involved in the successful treatment of young Sebastian, pediatric intensivist, Humberto Liriano, MD.

In the interview, Dr Liriano gave a good synopsis of the situation and the great news of what Sebastian is up to today.

I attended the 4th Annual Amoeba Summit this past Friday which was hosted by the Jordan Smelski Foundation.

The list of speakers was incredible, the biggest experts on Naegleria fowleri in the country, talking about topics ranging from lab diagnosis to the latest research and everything in between.

In this short interview, I talk to Medical Epidemiologist with the CDC, Jennifer Cope, MD, about the latest on the amoeba incidence and geography both in the US and internationally.

With the Vaccine Mom

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization released some astounding preliminary information concerning measles during the first half of the year.

In the first six months of 2019, reported measles cases are the highest they have been in any year since 2006. There have been almost three times as many cases reported to date in 2019 as there were at this same time last year, about 350,000.

Right here at home, we have seen the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992 and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.

The majority of cases are among people who were not vaccinated against measles.

Joining me today to talk about measles and the MMR vaccine is the Vaccine Mom, Taryn Chapman.

Lyme disease. So much we seem not to know, in many different areas.

Draft guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease were recently issued by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA)--two really big, contentious issues.

And of course there are the disagreements of how the various organizations view these Lyme topics--I've often termed this the establishment vs. the advocates.

My guest today took a look at this in a recent two-part series in Forbes entitled "Lyme Wars".

Joining me is the author and infectious disease physician, Judy Stone, MD.

The CDC says HPV, or human papillomavirus, is a common virus that can lead to 6 types of cancers later in life.

Almost every person who is sexually active will get HPV at some time in their life without HPV vaccination. About 14 million Americans, including teens, become infected with HPV each year. While most HPV infections will go away on their own, infections that don't go away can cause certain types of cancer.

Fortunately, there is a vaccine available that provides your child with safe, effective, and long-lasting protection against certain types of cancer later in life.

Joining me today to talk about the HPV vaccine is the Vaccine Mom, Taryn Chapman

In this look at the week-in-review for Ebola and the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I look at the new cases reported in the 3rd DRC province, South Kivu.

In addition, other big news was narrowing of two Ebola drugs that preliminary studies show promising results.

Singapore has experienced several dengue epidemics in the past ~20 years and it appears that 2019 is one of those years.

In this podcast, I look at the current situation (surpassing 10,000 cases this week) and a little on some recent historical trends.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on some new measles surveillance data this week and we see some astounding numbers of the vaccine-preventable disease across the globe.

In this podcast, I look at the global situation and the outbreaks in Europe, Africa, Asia and the United States.

On today's podcast, I am joined by The Vaccine Mom, Taryn Chapman. We explore some vaccine basics, immunology and immunity and some good information and advice about vaccines for parents.