Outbreak News Radio

An active surveillance investigation is underway by the CDC, FDA and state health departments regarding a nationwide surge of cyclosporiasis cases, a parasitic infection. Dozens of states are affected, and of particular note, a massive spike of over 3,300 cases have been reported as of today. A single food source or supplier has not been definitively identified. Joining me today to discuss cyclospora and the outbreak is Wesley Long, MD, PhD. Dr Long is the medical director of microbiology at Houston Methodist.

Current Lyme disease tests look for antibodies produced by the immune system in response to Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria transmitted to humans by infected blacklegged ticks. My guest today says, "The problem is that these antibodies don't have the right characteristics to be clinically useful". New research led by Tufts University School of Medicine suggests that a group of immune molecules called anti-lipid antibodies may address these shortcomings. Joining me today do discuss this problem and the potential solution is Peter Gwynne, Phd. Dr Gwynne is a research assistant professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and the senior author of the new paper published in the journal, Infection and Immunity.   Antiphospholipid antibodies in acute and post-treatment Lyme disease

In this newscast, I talk about the rapidly growing cyclospora outbreak in Michigan, especially in the southeast part of the state. I also talk about a little history of the parasite here in the US and go over some recommendations from health officials.

In a 2025 WHO report on global antibiotic resistance, they revealed that one in six bacterial infections worldwide in 2023 were completely resistant to standard antibiotic treatments. Between 2018 and 2023, antibiotic resistance increased in over 40% of the monitored pathogen-antibiotic combinations. The average annual increase in resistance sits between 5% and 15%. Bacterial AMR was directly responsible for an estimated 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths. Projections indicate that without massive interventions, deaths could surge by 70% by 2050, claiming nearly 10 million lives annually. Joining me today to discuss antibiotics, how they work, their history and antimicrobial resistance is Brenda A Wilson, PhD. Dr Wilson is a professor of microbiology and adjunct professor of pathobiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is also the coauthor of the fantastic book, Revenge of the Microbes, 2nd ED

As tick populations grow and their ranges expand, the number of people being diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is rising. So what is alpha gal syndrome? Today I want to dive into this serious, potentially life-threatening type of food allergy that is associated with the bite of a tick. Joining me today is Cara Martone, Cara is a doctoral student at Tufts University who is currently doing her research on AGS.

The New World screwworm has returned to the United States as the first case was reported in Texas on June 3, Since then, a number of additional cases have affected animals in Texas and New Mexico. What is the new world screwworm? How is it transmitted and how dangerous is it? And how will we get it under control? These are just a few of the questions I will pose to my expert guest. Joining me today is Lee Haines, Ph.D. Dr Haines is a medical entomologist and associate professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame.

In this news report, I give an Ebola update, human screwworm in Honduras, measles in Bangladesh and Guatemala, hepatitis A in Manitoba, Canada and CCHF in Iraq.

On today's news report, I look at the large dengue outbreak in Sri Lanka, Florida reports new travel associated dengue and chikungunya, diphtheria in Haiti, polio in Afghanistan, Virginia''s measles outbreak and dengue increases in Malaysia.

On this episode of Outbreak News Radio, I look at the latest from Africa and the Ebola outbreak, a Powassan virus case in New Hampshire, Japanese encephalitis in Asia and a H9N2 avian influenza case confirmed in Hong Kong.

In this report, I look at the shigella outbreak and the new Nipah virus case reported in Kerala state in southern India.