Outbreak News This Week: Ebola, swine flu, dengue, malaria and more

A quick look at the dengue situation in Hillsborough County and the rest of Florida.

Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (the bacterium that causes gonorrhea) has become one of the most urgent antimicrobial resistant threats to public health worldwide. Clinicians expect to be confronted by rising rates of treatment failure in the years to come. As gonorrhea rates rise and treatment options become more limited, researchers are calling for a more tailored approach that combines new diagnostics, rapid resistance testing, surveillance and additional treatment options for the sexually transmitted disease. Joining me today to discuss drug-resistant gonorrhea is Dr. Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz, Dr Allan-Blitz is an assistant professor in UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine, recently co-edited a supplement in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases that outlines the threat and highlights recent advances in diagnostics and therapeutics that can help. Treatment Diversification to Address the Continued Rise of Antimicrobial Resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae

I look at outbreaks around the world over the past week from every continent: Ebola in DRC, malaria in DRC, Lassa in Nigeria, JE in Nepal, polio in Afghanistan, Legionnaires' disease in France, Sri Lanka dengue, Dengue in TampaBay, Florida and more.

In this news video, I go over the latest numbers from the Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In addition, I look at what some major health organizations, like MSF, WHO and Africa CDC, say about their concerns about the outbreak. Lastly, I offer some good news about some suspected cases that turned out negative very close to the capital city of Kinshasa.

Women who test positive for bacterial vaginosis (BV) were over three times more likely to also test positive for one or more non-viral sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than women who test negative for BV, according to a new Health Trends® study from Quest Diagnostics and Hologic, Inc., published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology Open. Joining me today to discuss the study and what healthcare providers should do based on this information is Beth Marlowe , PhD. Dr Marlowe is Executive Scientific Director and heads R&D for Quest Diagnostics Infectious Diseases and Immunology and co author of the study.   Vaginitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Coinfections

The first U.S. clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy in veterans with PTSD who got no relief from conventional treatments has established that the protocol is safe, causing no serious adverse events or increases in suicidal thinking or behavior.  In fact, the preliminary clinical results exceeded researchers' expectations. Joining me to discuss psilocybin-assisted therapy and PTSD and the study published in the journal Communications Medicine is Stacey Armstrong , PhD. Dr Armstrong is the Associate Director and Senior Researcher at the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education (CPDRE) at The Ohio State University   Safety, feasibility, and preliminary clinical outcomes of psilocybin-assisted therapy for veterans with severe, treatment-resistant PTSD: an open-label pilot clinical trial

In this April 2014 interview, Daniel Pastula, MD, MHS, EIS Officer & Neurologist with CDC's Arboviral Diseases Branch discusses the new Heartland virus disease with Outbreak News This Week Radio Show host Robert Herriman

On today's show, I'll be looking at is very common medical problem- kidney stones- a problem so common that about 1 in 10 people in the United States suffer from them over their lifetime.   Joining me today to discuss kidney stones is Carmin Kalorin, MD. Dr Kalorin is a board certified urologist from North Carolina and the author of the unique book, The Philosopher's Guide to Life, suffering and kidney stones, where he blends medical knowledge and ancient philosophy to help patients endure excruciating renal colic.

In this September 2013 radio interview, I talk to Jeremy Lewis of Kyle Cares Amoeba Awareness and Heidi LaMeyer of Swim Above Water, about their personal stories with the tragic deaths of their respective children and the work they were doing at their awareness organizations.

In a July 2013 interview on the Tampa-based, Outbreak News This Week radio show, I talk to Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, Iowa Dept. of Public Health Medical Director and State Epidemiologist, about the large cyclospora outbreak in Iowa and the midwest.