public health
tsmith | March 28, 2006I'd like to continue the overview of emerging infectious diseases (part one is here) by discussing some reasons why diseases "emerge." Obviously, this will be somewhat of a simplification; many diseases may emerge due to a combination of the topics mentioned below, or may have factors involved that I don't mention, so these should be considered broad categories rather than an all-inclusive list.
So, one reason: climate change. An obvious example of this are diseases borne by arthropods, which live in a fairly narrow range of temperatures or environments. Global warming or cooling may…
tsmith | March 27, 2006Sometimes amid all the news about H5N1, the "old and boring" diseases get overlooked, such as chickenpox and mumps.
State health officials said they are concerned about a rare strain of virus behind an outbreak of 60 mumps cases in Iowa.
Mary Gilchrist, director of the state's University Hygienic Laboratory, said the genotype G strain is infrequently seen in the United States. With the number jumping from 17 cases just two weeks ago, she predicted there could be more outbreaks this spring.
"If the past predicts the future, it will get worse in April," she said.
(Continued below)
Recall that…
tsmith | March 27, 2006Part One: Introduction to Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses
Part Two: Introduction to Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses continued
Part Three: Bushmeat
Part Four: War and Disease
Part Five: Chikungunya
Part Six: Avian influenza
Part Seven: Reporting on emerging diseases
Part Eight: Disease and Domesticated Animals
Part Nine: The Emergence of Nipah Virus
Part Ten: Monkeypox
Part Eleven: Streptococcus suis
Part Twelve: Salmonella and fish
Part Thirteen: new swine influenza virus detected
Part Fourteen: dog flu strikes Wyoming.
Part Fifteen: Clostridium species.
Part Sixteen:…
tsmith | March 27, 2006So, I'm back from Atlanta. While there, I attended two back-to-back conferences. First, ICEID: International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases; second, ISEZ: International Symposium on Emerging Zoonoses. I thought I'd do a multi-part series this week discussing some of the highlights.
To make sure everyone is on the same page, first I'll discuss just what is meant by an "emerging infectious disease" and a "zoonosis" or "zoonotic disease."
An "emerging disease" is generally defined as "any of a group of diseases, of various cause, that have newly appeared or are rapidly…
tsmith | March 24, 2006Actually being at a conference soaking up so much of this stuff means, alas, not nearly as much time as I usually spend during the week actually reading the new literature in many of the areas I write about. Over at Effect Measure, as usual, they help to make up for that, by commenting on two new papers in Science and Nature that give one potential reason why human-to-human transmission isn't occurring yet--but Revere notes it's not quite that simple.
(More after the jump)
The reason, the researchers propose, is that the cells bearing the type of receptor the avian virus is known to favor…
tsmith | March 23, 2006So, I moved the malaria entry to another post--since all the comments focused on Culshaw's post (noted in the first comment below), might as well have a more focused discussion on it. I'll be back tomorrow with a somewhat related post, but until then, feel free to chat amongst yourselves.
tsmith | March 20, 2006Yesterday, as mentioned previously, was Dunk Malaria day. I'm on the road today in cold 'n' gloomy Atlanta so pardon the delay, but coturnix has a collection of posts here regarding the topic. Just spent much of the morning hearing about new strategies to control vectors (aimed mostly at dengue, but some ideas could extend to malaria as well) and learning about new malaria drugs (and resistance to old ones), so perhaps I'll be able to put up an overview later in the week. I'm away until Friday, so blogging this week will likely be rather sporadic.
tsmith | March 18, 2006 I discussed the so-called "cervical cancer vaccine," a multivalent vaccine protective against several strains of the human papilloma virus previously here. In the new issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, there's aperspective on the vaccine, and issues surrounding it:
Genital HPV infection is common, with an estimated 6.2 million new infections each year in the United States. Although most infections are asymptomatic and transient, persistent infection with oncogenic HPV types is a serious health issue. Cervical cancer is the 11th most common cancer among women in the United States…
tsmith | March 17, 2006 Is Crohn's disease caused by Mycobacterium avium pseudotuberculosis (MAP)?
In an article out yesterday, Australian Dr. Thomas Borody claims yes, and that the medical community is simply too "stuck in their ways" to admit it. I explain below why I think this is incorrect--or at least, premature.
I mentioned several times in the various AIDS threads and in the prostate cancer/virus thread that it's often difficult to determine an infectious cause of a so-called "chronic" disease. Not only is there generally a time lag between infection and disease development, but it may be that only…
tsmith | March 15, 2006This is pretty cool. In the "Innovators" section of this week's Time, several different epidemiologists are profiled--you can read it free through this Sunday. They are:
1. Michael Sadowsky, who has combined good, old-fashioned leg work with robotics to track various strains of E. coli in soil and water.
2. Suneeta Krishan, who is investigating the link between sexism and AIDS in India.
3. Jane Buxton, who is trying to create an evidence-based program for treating drug addicts in Vancouver.
4. Gregory Schultz, who is using his research into wound healing to develop…
tsmith | March 14, 2006I mentioned yesterday that Mike had a post on the war on epidemiology. That might sound a bit strange--doesn't have quite the ring to it as Chris's book. But, never fear, epidemiology is indeed under attack--or, at least, it's being redefined by young earth creationists.
In a pair of articles published in the esteemed journal, Creation Research Society Quarterly, Jeffrey Schragin has put forth his argument that "the Bible's epidemiology is scientifically sound" and that the "Creation Health Model (CHM) offers a more comprehensive understanding of health and disease than standard molecules…
tsmith | March 13, 2006A bit busy today, so I'll direct you elsewhere for some good reading.
First, afarensis is thinking about re-naming his blog Aetiology Jr. after writing another post on bacterial meta-genomics in the sea; Mike discusses the Republican War on Epidemiology; John has more about the candiru I mentioned here, and Joseph revisits probiotics.
Second, as mentioned, an appeal. Some of you who are Panda's Thumb readers may remember this post from November, mentioning the death of Allan Glenn (aka "WinAce" from Wonderful World of WinAce). If you've not seen that site before, check it out--it's…
tsmith | March 11, 2006DarkSyde has a new interview up with Barbara Forrest, discussing the history of intelligent design, "the wedge," and how she became involved in all of it.
You may also want to check out DemfromCT's post on what we don't know about "bird flu."
What we don't know about H5N1 can fill a library. So when folks come on here and claim there's fearmongering going on whenever the virus is simply discussed, understand that knowledge is power and preparation is prudence, not fear.
Well said.
tsmith | March 11, 2006Via Pharyngula, I found this site: the Schoepenhauer Awards. Man, I'm in love. Not only do they profile the intestinal roundworm, but they also discuss the Tasmanian tiger (one of my favorite extinct animals); the candiru, a parasitic catfish that enters body openings you'd rather not think about; the scabies mite; and liver fluke.
Finally, they even have an entry on one of my favorite organisms, the human botfly.
tsmith | March 10, 2006Or, y'know, the Mike Brown disaster? Think again.
We don't need none o' that fancy learnin'! We'll just repeat our mistakes until people stop noticing. Besides, who needs someone actually qualified in a boring department like Homeland Security?
tsmith | March 8, 2006Not the Batman kind--the influenza kind.
I received a questionnaire yesterday from ABC news. Apparently, they're doing a story on pandemic influenza preparation. Included were questions like, "What would you recommend to those individuals who are trying to obtain antiviral medications for their own personal preparedness? When should they start taking them?" and "What would you recommend to individuals who are trying to obtain face masks for their own personal preparedness? When should they start wearing them?", as well as questions about food and water stockpiling and going to work/school…
tsmith | March 6, 2006I meant to plug this last week: RPM at Evolgen has a post on microbial diversity in the gut, referencing a new Cell paper.
I was going to write up this paper on MRSA within amoebae, but haven't had time. I still might do a more extensive commentary, but Joseph has a few words on it.
tsmith | March 6, 2006Okay, my morning meeting went a bit faster than expected so I can sneak in a quick post before my first lecture. We were discussing infectious causes of cancer here. I received an email stating how "inconsistent" I was by asserting that a disease could be infectious but not contagious. So, rather than keep giving more examples of other chronic diseases that develop due to an infectious agent, I thought I'd take a different approach (after the jump...)
Y'see, as I've mentioned before, one of my interests is planning for any kind of major infectious disease outbreak--which includes…
tsmith | March 2, 2006Well, Orac got dragged into it. While I only briefly mentioned RFK Jr.'s nonsense here, Orac's done a more thorough rebuttal here, complete with lots of links to his older posts on thimerosal/autism. And like PZ, political lines don't stop me from pointing out mistakes either.
tsmith | March 1, 2006Wall of Distrust in Nigeria Bird Flu Fight
The peasant farm hands were deeply suspicious as they watched the police marksmen trying to control bird flu kill 168 ostriches the farm had reared over eight years. Days later, when the 160 workers were invited for tests to see if they, too, were infected, nearly everyone fled.
"Most of them feared they would end up like the ostriches, to be shot dead for having the virus," said one of the more enlightened of the Sambawa Farms workers, Ibrahim Hassan, who turned up promptly for medical checks.
"Nearly everyone fled." This is pretty much a worst-…