Outbreak News Radio

Since 2014, some media and radio personalities have attributed the increase in Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) cases in the US to immigrant children from Central America.

The latest was a segment last week on the Savage Nation with Michael Savage, a very popular talk radio program.

What is EV-D68 and is it an imported disease from immigrant children? I look at this in this latest installment in the Infectious Disease News Brief.

The hepatitis A outbreak in Florida is growing and in this news brief I look at the latest numbers and talk about the vaccine.

Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania government warned the public that as the weather gets warmer and you spend more time outdoors, be aware of ticks and Lyme disease.

Pennsylvania has reported the ticks that carry Lyme disease and other infectious agents in all 67 counties and has reported at or near the top of all states in the US in Lyme disease cases.

Nationally, Lyme disease cases continue to rise and spread.

On today's podcast, I want to look at the ecology and ticks.

My guest today is disease ecologist with the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Richard Ostfeld, PhD.

On this weekends Outbreak News This Week Radio show, I spend the first half talking to World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson for polio eradication, Oliver Rosenbauer.

During the interview, Mr Rosenbauer discusses some history on polio, including the introduction of the vaccine, the different vaccines and the purposes and differences and the situation and difficulties as we get closer to eradication in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

During the second half, I look at several quite unusual news stories and studies- from rhinosporidiosis to sweat bees in the eye to a little girl with a sand flea infestation acquired running through a pigsty with no shoes on.

I also look at some parasite news from Canada, which includes a report of a toxoplasmosis outbreak linked to deer meat and Echinococcus in southern Ontario.

Chronic wasting disease, or CWD is a prion disease that affects several cervid species: deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose. It has been found in some areas of North America, including three provinces in Canada and at least 26 states.

My guest today has expressed concern that it is probable that human cases of CWD associated with the consumption of contaminated meat will be documented in the years ahead.

This has prompted the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota to launch the Chronic Wasting Disease Response, Research and Policy Program (CWD Program).

Joining me today is the director of CIDRAP, Michael Osterholm, PhD.

The Asian Longhorned Tick made its appearance in the United States recently and has since been found in a number of states.

The emergence of these ticks represent a potential threat for livestock, wildlife, and human health, according to experts.

In a new study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers say the infestation in Staten Island, NY is far more advanced than previously known.

Joining me to talk about the Asian longhorned tick and the new study is associate professor in the Columbia University Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Maria Diuk-Wasser, PhD.

On Sunday's show I look at the recent news from Rockland County, New York where the County Executive, Ed Day declared a county wide State of Emergency, which effectively banned all unvaccinated people 18 years and younger from entering public places for 30 days or until they get vaccinated.

I also looked at the legal implications referring to a Healio interview with vaccine law expert, Brian Dean Abramson.

Then there is anti-vaxxer, Robert F Kennedy Jr up to his typical shenanigans on Twitter trying to blame rises in depression and anxiety on the Gardasil vaccine.

Do you have a penicillin allergy? Researchers at McMaster University say that you probably don't.

In the second half, I play a portion of an interview I had with public health expert, Glenn Laverack, PhD about health promotion and outbreaks.

Organ donation and transplantation has been a medical miracle in saving lives; however, the number of organs available are not nearly enough.

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), 113,602 people need a lifesaving organ transplant.

Donate Life America says another person is added to the waiting list every 10 minutes and sadly, 22 people die each day because the organ they need is not donated in time.

Tagged to organ donation and transplantation is a host of bioethical issues that are constantly debated to include presumed consent and the sale of organs.

Today, I want to look at a few of these issues. I am joined by medical ethicist, lawyer and the executive director of the Kid-U-Not Living Organ Donor Fund, Sigrid Fry-Revere JD, PhD.