Some Like It Hot! A Century-Old Disease on Our Southern Shores
By MIKE MAGEE
Naomi Orestes PhD, Professor of the History of Science at Harvard, didn’t mince words as she placed our predicament in context when she said, “If you know your Greek tragedies you know power, hubris, and tragedy go hand in hand. If we don’t address the harmful aspects of human activities, most obviously disruptive climate change, we are headed for tragedy.”
At the time, as a member of the Anthropocene Workgroup, she and a group of international climate scientists were focused on defining and measuring nine “planetary boundaries,” environmental indicators of planetary health. At...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 30, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: Health Policy Avian Flu Climate Change Pandemic Sea level change Yellow Fever Source Type: blogs
Peptoid Oligomers Target Viral Membranes
Researchers at New York University have developed a new method to target many viruses that cause disease. For viruses with a lipid membrane, which includes many that commonly cause disease, this new technique could prove to be fatal. By targeting the lipid membrane, the approach may circumvent the treatment resistance that arises when viruses mutate to alter their surface proteins, which are the most common targets for conventional anti-viral drugs. This new approach is based on a synthetic version of antimicrobial peptides, which are naturally produced by our immune system and can target pathogens such as bacteria and vir...
Source: Medgadget - August 30, 2023 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Medicine Public Health Source Type: blogs
The Macro View – Health, Economics, and Politics and the Big Picture. What I Am Watching Here And Abroad.
September 08, 2022 Edition-----In the US we are seeing the outcomes of Climate Change really of and running with droughts and fires etc. Biden amped up the partisan divide with a fiery anti-Republican speech!In Russia the last leader of Soviet Russia died.In the UK we have a new PM while in Europe the energy crisis is just getting worse.In OZ we have survived the Jobs and Skills Summit with 36 prearranged outcomes. Stage management +++ in action. The GP crisis is not being addressed fully and worries regarding the Global Economy - esp. China - worsen.-----Major Issues.-----https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/educati...
Source: Australian Health Information Technology - September 8, 2022 Category: Information Technology Authors: Dr David G More MB PhD Source Type: blogs
Fighting Viruses with Viruses
by Gertrud U. Rey Errors during viral replication can give rise to shortened and/or rearranged genomic sequences known as “defective viral genomes” (DVGs). Because DVGs often lack critical elements needed for replication and formation of new viral particles, virions containing DVGs can only complete a replication cycle if they co-infect a cell together with respective […] (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - May 5, 2022 Category: Virology Authors: Gertrud U. Rey Tags: Basic virology Gertrud Rey antiviral Chikungunya virus defective viral genomes dengue virus DVGs mosquitoes zika virus Source Type: blogs
Paul and the Mosquitos
From the authors of Paul Has Measles and Paul Stays Home comes Paul and the Mosquitos, an illustrated book for children about mosquito-borne diseases. (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - July 30, 2021 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Chikungunya dengue fever malaria mosquito mosquito borne disease viral virus viruses yellow fever Source Type: blogs
How many diseases are preventable by vaccines?
The power of vaccines cannot be underestimated. Take, for example, Poliomyelitis, which was a significant problem 70 years ago – and is now close to becoming a disease of the past. Not that long ago, smallpox was completely eradicated through the use of a vaccine.
As the world celebrates the imminent arrival of several COVID-19 vaccines, we might ask how many diseases are preventable by vaccines as of 2020.
Which diseases haven’t got a vaccine yet?
Of the 361 generic infectious diseases that affect humans, only 62 (17%) are preventable by vaccines. Over 100 of the remainder are caused by fungi and pa...
Source: GIDEON blog - December 17, 2020 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Kristina Symes Tags: News Therapy Source Type: blogs
21st century outbreaks
Which diseases have generated the highest number of cases from outbreaks during the first two decades of the 21st century? In this blog, we can use GIDEON’s data to find out.
‘Disease outbreak’ is a scary term for many, but every year we suffer dozens, if not hundreds, of localized and international disease outbreaks across the world. While these outbreaks are always significant to those affected, they rarely generate headlines, and can sometimes go unnoticed outside of the Healthcare Industry.
An “outbreak” is often defined as an increase in case numbers for a particular disease in a defined place and...
Source: GIDEON blog - December 3, 2020 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Kristina Symes Tags: Epidemiology News Outbreaks Source Type: blogs
Top 10 most prominent diseases of the 21st Century
Which diseases have generated the highest number of cases from outbreaks during the first two decades of the 21st century? In this blog, we can use GIDEON’s data to find out.
‘Disease outbreak’ is a scary term for many, but every year we suffer dozens, if not hundreds, of localized and international disease outbreaks across the world. While these outbreaks are always significant to those affected, they rarely generate headlines, and can sometimes go unnoticed outside of the Healthcare Industry.
An “outbreak” is often defined as an increase in case numbers for a particular disease in a defined place and time. ...
Source: GIDEON blog - December 1, 2020 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Kristina Symes Tags: Epidemiology News Outbreaks Source Type: blogs
The Itchy, Bumpy Blues: How to Treat and Prevent Mosquito Bites and Related Conditions
Mosquito bites may be a nuisance, but fortunately, in the U.S., they tend to amount to nothing more than that. Upon being bitten, most Americans experience a bit of swelling and itchiness, and nothing more. However, there are exceptions to this, including stronger allergic reactions to bites and cases of mosquito-borne illness.
Insect and arachnid bites, including ticks, account for approximately 2,000 cases of malaria and 30,000 cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. annually. In addition, millions of people worldwide die of malaria each year. It is helpful to protect yourself against insect bites, not only to avoid pesk...
Source: Conversations with Dr Greene - June 7, 2020 Category: Child Development Authors: Alan Greene MD Tags: Dr. Greene's Blog Environmental Health Insect Bites & Stings Insects & Animals Outdoor Safety Source Type: blogs
Tropical Travel Trouble 010 Fever, Arthralgia and Rash
LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog
aka Tropical Travel Trouble 010
Peer Reviewer: Dr Jennifer Ho, ID physician QLD, Australia
You are an ED doc working in Perth over schoolies week. An 18 yo man comes into ED complaining of fever, rash a “cracking headache” and body aches. He has just hopped off the plane from Bali where he spent the last 2 weeks partying, boozing and running amok. He got bitten by “loads” of mosquitoes because he forgot to take insect repellent.
On examination he looks miserable,...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - July 16, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Amanda McConnell Tags: Clinical Cases Tropical Medicine arthralgia dengue fever rash Source Type: blogs
TWiV 498: Salivating at ASM Microbe
Vincent, Kathy and Rich travel to ASM Microbe 2018 in Atlanta where they speak with Stacy Horner and Ken Stapleford about their careers and their research. <span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span><span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span>&lt;span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”di...
Source: virology blog - June 17, 2018 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology aedes aegypti Aedes albopictus alphavirus ASM Microbe 2018 Chikungunya virus epitranscriptome evolution m6 adenosine m6A quasispecies RNA RNA modification viral viruses Source Type: blogs
Ticked off: America ’s quiet epidemic of tickborne diseases
For most of us, springtime marks the return of life to a dreary landscape, bringing birdsong, trees in bud, and daffodils in bloom. But if you work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the coming of spring means the return of nasty diseases spread by ticks and mosquitoes.
The killjoys at CDC celebrated the end of winter with a bummer of a paper showing that infections spread by ticks doubled in the United States from 2004 to 2016. (Tick populations have exploded in recent decades, perhaps due to climate change and loss of biodiversity.)
Lyme disease
The most common infection spread by ticks in the US i...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - May 25, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Ross, MD, FIDSA Tags: Health Infectious diseases Source Type: blogs
Mayaro Virus Disease and Travel
As of April, 2018 eleven cases of travel-associated Mayaro virus infection have been reported (see chart below). [1,2] The current report on ProMED is the third to have originated in Peru. A user-generated Gideon chart comparing the clinical features of several mosquito-borne viral diseases of Peru (Dengue, Chikungunya, Oropouche, Mayaro, Group C viruses and Zika) is also displayed.
Note: Group C zoonotic viruses of Peru include Ataqui, Iataya, Murutucu, Caraparu and Apeu
References:
Berger SA. Gideon Guide to Cros...
Source: GIDEON blog - May 19, 2018 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Dr. Stephen Berger Tags: Ebooks Epidemiology ProMED Travel Source Type: blogs
Malaria Rates in Central America
Although CDC declared that there is no risk for malaria to American travelers in Costa Rica as of 2014, six of eleven cases reported by the latter in 2017 were classified as “autochthonous”. [1] For much of the past fifty years, Costa Rica has reported the lowest rates of malaria in Central America; and rates for the entire region have decreased dramatically since 2000 [2,3]
References:
https://www.ministeriodesalud.go.cr/index.php/vigilancia-de-la-salud/boletines/enfermedades-de-transmision-vectorial-2017/3443-boletin-epidemiologico-no-31-2017-zika-chikungunya-y-dengue/file
Berger SA. Malaria: Global Statu...
Source: GIDEON blog - May 14, 2018 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Dr. Stephen Berger Tags: Ebooks Epidemiology Graphs ProMED Source Type: blogs
A Clinical Trial By Any Other Name …
By ARTHUR CAPLAN and KELLY McBRIDE FOLKERS
Mosquito borne illnesses pose a significant threat to human health. In the past several years, drug makers have begun developing vaccines for viruses like dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, all of which pose unique risks to billions across the globe. One of them just went terribly, terribly wrong.
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of the multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi, has the problem. In a press release distributed last Wednesday, Sanofi reported that new analysis of long-term safety data for its dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia®, revealed that the vaccine may not be safe ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - December 7, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Dengue Source Type: blogs
