Are the Olympics Bad for Public Health?

Are the Olympics Bad for Public Health?

Feb. 28, 2022 — Every Olympics, the world’s greatest athletes come together to demonstrate the upper limits of what the human body can achieve and inspire all of us to get off the couch (for about 5 minutes). But could the Olympic Games be bad for your health? If you live in a host city, … Read more

Targeting Ticks and Lyme Disease With Gene Editing

Targeting Ticks and Lyme Disease With Gene Editing

Feb. 23, 2022 — We hear a lot about the scourges of mosquitoes as they spread malaria, dengue fever, Zika, and other illnesses, but they’re certainly not the only tiny vector out there spreading disease. Just ask anyone who’s dealt with Lyme disease. Ticks have long been a major source of infectious disease, but they … Read more

CDC Launches New Center to Watch for Future Outbreaks

Aug. 19, 2021 — The CDC is setting up a new hub to watch for early warning signs of future infectious outbreaks, the agency announced Wednesday. Epidemiologists learn about emerging outbreaks by tracking information, and the quality of their analysis depends on their access to high-quality data. Gaps in existing systems became obvious during … Read more

COVID-19: Lessons for disease Surveillance – Are we preparing for the future?

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The COVID pandemic is progressing and has impacted human health, economy, and development, The United Nations had linked national security with pandemics. (Representational image: IE) By Dr K Madan Gopal,  The emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases like plague, SARS, H1N1, avian influenza, Ebola, and ZIKA, and most recently the outbreak of COVID-19 viruses has … Read more

What Happened to Flu Season?

The pattern in North America followed an extremely quiet flu season the Southern Hemisphere. The U.S. typically looks to countries like Australia for a glimpse at what might be coming to our shores. Doctors say they are beyond relieved that we didn’t see flu misery on top of the winter COVID-19 surge. “The question … Read more

Mystery Illness Strikes Hundreds in India

Dec. 8, 2020 — More than 300 people in India were hospitalized with a “mystery illness” over the weekend, and there was one death. The patients in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh had symptoms similar to those associated with epilepsy, including headaches, nausea, vomiting and seizures, CBS News reported. Dozens of people … Read more

Virologists: What Do They Do?

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Since the advent of modern medicine, virologists have contributed to innovations in health care from developing vaccines for multiple diseases to sequencing DNA. These infectious disease specialists are highly skilled medical experts who manage the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases such as hepatitis C, HIV, and Ebola. They currently serve on the … Read more

Three Share Nobel Prize for Hepatitis C Research

Oct. 5, 2020 — Two U.S. researchers and a British scientist have been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for major contributions to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis. Hepatitis C, which causes cirrhosis and liver cancer, causes 400,000 deaths worldwide each year, the Washington Post reported. The three recipients … Read more

Cost Puts HIV-Preventing PrEP Out of Reach for Many

Yet, at the same time, the cost of a month’s supply of 30 tablets rose from $1,350 to $1,638, the study authors noted. But isn’t PrEP covered by insurance? Yes and no, Furukawa said. “PrEP is covered by nearly all insurance plans, most state Medicaid plans and Medicare,” he noted. “However, out-of-pocket costs … Read more

Polio Eradicated in Africa: WHO

Aug. 27, 2020 — An effort that began in 1996 has led to the eradication of polio in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. The campaign by governments and nonprofits delivered nearly 9 billion polio vaccines, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a livestreamed event on Tuesday, CNN reported. “The end of wild … Read more