Outbreak News Radio

Transmitted by the bite of the tsetse flu (Glossina spp.), African trypanosomiasis, of sleeping sickness is a serious infection caused by microscopic parasites of the species Trypanosoma brucei.

Although the infection is not found in the United States, historically, it has been a serious public health problem in some regions of sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2014, 3,796 sleeping sickness cases were reported to the World Health Organization; T. b. gambiense accounted for >98% of cases. Many cases, however, are probably not recognized nor reported.

I recently had a long conversation with Associate Professor of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at USF Health, Sandra Gompf, MD about a myriad of infectious disease topics from her handy book, Gompf's ID pearls and one on the topics I asked her about was African sleeping sickness.

September is Sepsis Awareness Month and according to the CDC, 1 in 3 people who die in a hospital have sepsis. 250,000 Americans die from sepsis each year.

Joining me to talk about sepsis diagnostics, treatment, recovery and more is Dr. Amy Sprague. Dr Sprague is the Patient Safety Manager at the Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indiana.

In addition, she serves on the Sepsis Alliance's newly created Sepsis Coordinator Network as an advisor.

George Mason University economics professor, Dr Walter Williams recently published an op-ed suggesting that illegal or undocumented immigrants are a source of infectious diseases in the country. Senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Amesh Adalja, MD responded to Dr Williams thesis with a countering op-ed. So the question is, does the […]

George Mason University economics professor, Dr Walter Williams recently published an op-ed suggesting that illegal or undocumented immigrants are a source of infectious diseases in the country.

Senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Amesh Adalja, MD responded to Dr Williams thesis with a countering op-ed.

So the question is, does the arrival of undocumented immigrants pose a real health security risk to the U.S. population? What do we know?

Dr Amesh Adalja joined me today to discuss this issue.

With the unusual, in fact, first time the viral disease monkeypox was reported not once but twice in England this past week, I thought it would be good to learn more about the disease.

Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics and Epidemiology at the Yale schools of Medicine and Public health and author of the book, Animal Viruses and Humans–A Narrow Divide, Warren Andiman, MD joined me in the first half for a primer on monkeypox.

During the second half, entomology professor with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Jonathan Day, PhD joined me to discuss the mosquito-borne virus situation in the state of Florida to include Eastern Equine Encephalitis or EEE and West Nile Virus and how the public can protect themselves from mosquito bites.

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that is associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and other chronic health disorders.

Up to 90 percent of individuals with sleep apnea are undiagnosed and a large number of them are African-Americans.

A new study by investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital looked at the prevalence of sleep apnea among African-American men and women living in Jackson, Miss., and participating in the Jackson Heart Sleep Study. The study is published in the journal SLEEP.

Joining me today is the lead author of the study Dayna Johnson, PhD. Dr Johnson is an associate epidemiologist in the Division of Sleep and Circadium Disorders at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Leptospirosis is a disease spread by animal urine. People get infected when they come in contact with urine of infected animals or with urine-contaminated water, soil, or food.

We've seen recent news reports of increases in leptospirosis cases in countries like the Philippines and India due to recent storms and the subsequent flooding.

To look at the spirochete bacterial infection I am joined by infectious disease physician, Steven LaRosa, MD.

Sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, have become a significant health issue in the United States. It is estimated that 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, with 80 percent of the cases of moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea undiagnosed.

Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA when left untreated can lead a multitude of health disorders.

Joining me today to talk about sleep apnea is Adam Amdur. Mr Amdur is the Chief Patient Officer of the American Sleep Apnea Association.

A professor at the University of Texas-El Paso is reaching out to the community there to help with research on Chagas disease and its vector, the kissing bug.

Joining me to talk about Chagas, kissing bugs, the community involvement and Chagas research being done is Rosa Maldonado, PhD. Dr Maldanado is an Associate Professor with the Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso.

A University of Florida entomologist recently urged Floridians to protect themselves against biting mosquitoes because of unusually high levels of mosquito-borne virus transmission, particularly Eastern Equine Encephalitis or EEE and West Nile Virus, in sentinel chickens, horses and humans so far this summer.

Joining me today is said entomologist, Jonathan Day, PhD. Dr Day is an entomology professor with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.