Outbreak News Radio

South Africa just came out of a massive Listeria outbreak that sickened more than 1000 and killed more than 200.

Associate Professor, Infectious Disease and International Medicine, USF Health, Sandra Gompf, MD joined me recently to discuss Listeria in this short podcast--who's most at risk, the pathology, common sources of the bacterium and treatment.

Today it was reported that the Pentagon mail facility received two pieces of mail Monday that initially tested positive for the toxin, ricin.

CNN reports that the letters were addressed to Secretary of Defense James Mattis and to Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson. It was latter reported that one piece of mail was also addressed to President Trump.

To answer some questions about ricin is Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, Amesh Adalja, MD.

Last week, the CDC reported on a record-breaking estimated 900,000 flu hospitalizations and more than 80,000 deaths in the U.S. last flu season.

My guest today, makes the case in Self magazine recently that while the flu shot is not 100 percent effective, you still need it.

Joining me now is the author of the piece, Tara Smith PhD. Dr Smith is an infectious disease epidemiologist and professor at the Kent State University College of Public Health.

Bartonella are globally distributed bacteria that can cause endocarditis in humans and domestic animals. Bats have been implicated as a likely reservoir host for these bacteria, but little is known about how prevalence varies over time, routes of transmission, and the genetic diversity of Bartonella in bats.

My guest today sheds some light on this topic in a new study published in the journal, PLoS Neglected Tropical diseases

Joining me today to discuss the research is post doctoral researcher with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Montana State University in Bozeman, Daniel Becker, PhD.

A little over a month ago I did a podcast with today’s guest on various infectious disease topics from her book Gompfs ID pearls and because it was so well received and the fact that we really just scratched the surface on this interesting topic, I had to have her on for another round of […]

A little over a month ago I did a podcast with today's guest on various infectious disease topics from her book Gompfs ID pearls and because it was so well received and the fact that we really just scratched the surface on this interesting topic, I had to have her on for another round of questions.

Associate Professor, Infectious Disease and International Medicine, USF Health, Sandra Gompf, MD joined me on today's show to answer questions like-- What is vancomycin creep? What pathogens are there in which humans are the only existing reservoir outside the lab? and Why is not having a spleen a huge risk factor for infections?

Yersiniosis is an infection caused most often by eating raw or undercooked pork contaminated with Yersinia enterocolitica bacteria. CDC estimates Y. enterocolitica causes almost 117,000 illnesses, 640 hospitalizations, and 35 deaths in the United States every year. Associate Professor of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at USF Health, Sandra Gompf, MD joined me to talk about Y. enterocolitica infections, transmission via […]

Yersiniosis is an infection caused most often by eating raw or undercooked pork contaminated with Yersinia enterocolitica bacteria. CDC estimates Y. enterocolitica causes almost 117,000 illnesses, 640 hospitalizations, and 35 deaths in the United States every year.

Associate Professor of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at USF Health, Sandra Gompf, MD joined me to talk about Y. enterocolitica infections, transmission via blood transfusions, treatment and extraintestinal complications.

Infection of the bone--short and sweet, that is the definition of osteomyelitis. Associate Professor of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at USF Health, Sandra Gompf, MD joined me to answer a few questions about this topic, something she addresses in her handy guide, Gompf's ID pearls.

During the discussion, Dr Gompf explains what the three basic types of osteomyelitis are, the different complications of the infection and what imaging studies are most useful in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis.

In this short Q&A, I talk to Associate Professor of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at USF Health, Sandra Gompf, MD about one of her infectious disease pearls, tetanus.

I ask her about the symptoms, treatment and prevention of tetanus. In addition, we touch on the topic of neonatal tetanus.

Finally, the question of how symptoms of rabies and tetanus are similar is explored.