Patient Zero

If you saw contagion, if you remember me mentioning Typhoid Mary in class, if you are curious as to the origin of HIV, if you are interested in more epidemiology, or if you wonder how an idea might spread....take a listen to this week's Radiolab. Add Radiolab to your podcasts on your smart phone, it's always interesting, really!

http://www.radiolab.org/2011/nov/14/

Maybe there will be extra credit on the final......

Malaria vaccine on the horizon?

I've said many times, and hopefully showed several examples, of how important cell surface chemistry is. Here is another example! Please note the phrase in the article, "a single receptor for a protein that is critical for the parasite to gain entry into red blood cells".

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/11/10/malaria-finding-points-to-possible-new-vaccine/

Here is an article about the GlaxoSmithkline vaccine also mentioned in the above article.

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-18/glaxo-vaccine-cuts-malaria-in-african-children-by-more-than-half

I think these advances are very promising. They seem to be the most progress made in a very long time against malaria. If the vaccines are successful, what might some continuing issues be in order to rid the world of Malaria?

Cheatobiotics: how can we use them?

http://www.zoo.ox.ac.uk/group/gardner/media/NewScientist_Oct_2011.pdf


This article is SO interesting and provocative. It was found and contributed by one of your classmates (Danielle J., yes extra credit for being chosen for the blog!). By all means read it (you won't regret it), and think about the way that the article proposes we exploit these lazy, cheating, bacteria. Make a list of the vocabulary in the article that you have learned already in this course. Would you have understood this article in the same way last August as you hopefully do now? What do you think--about the social behavior aspects of the article, about potential benefits, what could be some of the problems with the proposed therapy (think horizontal gene transfer, among other things), microbial evolution, can you relate bacterial behavior to successful human behaviors? Oh, so many things to think about. Share what you are thinking!

Antimicrobial Resistance Animation of Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial Resistance Animation of Antimicrobial Resistance

This animation was produced by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) as part of their veterinary information. The animation will reinforce things we have talked about in class with a different perspective. The twist is that we can consume pathogens from the foods we eat that could be antibiotic resistant due to the use of antibiotics in animals we consume.

Reflect on the following: What came first antibiotic resistance or the overuse of antibiotics? What is the relationship between the two? How can we reduce the development of resistant organisms? Finally, how does Horizontal Gene Transfer come in to play?

Influenza then and now

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20110919/spanish-flu-outbreak-study-110919/


Based on what we covered in lecture, your text, and after reading through the resources in BB on Influenza (In the Lectures section) post your comments on at least two of the following questions regarding Avian flu H5N1:

1. What is the source of this flu?
2.What is the relationship betwAeen birds, pig, humans and the flu?
3. How might an outbreak today compare with the1918 outbreak?
4. What would some of the consequences be of a pandemic today?
5. What is being done in light of the possibility of a pandemic?

Also, do you think there will be a major flu pandemic in the next few years?

Contagion! Fact or Fiction

Coming this September! Warner Brothers' version of a pandemic: Contagion.

View the trailer and comment on what you think the movie is about and how this movie relates to what you think you might learn in our class. In addition, what role would you play or who would you be in the movie if it were real life? In other words how does this movie relate to the career you envision for yourself. Policy maker/politician? Nurse, doctor, EMT? Researcher? Epidemiologist? We'll talk more in class about pandemics, fear, could this happen? We'll have to wait until the movie comes out before we can talk about how factual it is. In the meantime, remember, it's just a movie....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdzWcrXVtwg

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...

This could also be titled: So you think parasitic diseases are a third-world problem?

I've gathered some recent headlines about parasitic incidences and outbreaks right here in the very developed U.S. Parasitic diseases, especially the tropical types, are typically more commen in developing countries. This is especially true in children where their general health and nutrition is not optimal. But, parasites are alive and well anywhere there are animal (human and other) hosts. So read up. Comment on the following questions. What are the underlying causes and concerns in these outbreaks? What can happen when standard procedures are not followed or fail (ex., normal chlorination of water)? Should you be worried in your every day life?

http://www.shawneedispatch.com/news/2011/aug/29/disease-outbreak-prompts-shawnee-pool-close-early-/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110817175920.htm

http://www.app.com/article/20110819/NJNEWS18/308190131/3-die-of-rare-brain-infection-from-amoeba-in-water

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/about.html