Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible prion disease seen in the deer family – including mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, and moose – in countries throughout the world. The prion affects nervous system tissue in infected animals. E…
Category: Infectious disease
Do parasites predispose to dangerous behaviors in humans?
Those of you who have followed the game or series The Last of Us will recognize the name Cordyceps. This is the fungus that causes a global pandemic of zombies to break out and start attacking their fellow humans. The writers, in this case, did a good …
Travel’s hidden health risks [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Tami Burdick, a patient advocate and the author of Diagnosis Detective: Curing Granulomatous Mastitis. We delve into the world of travel, uncovering hidden health and safety risks ofte…
What’s trying to start the next pandemic? AI drug discovery and the quest for a pan-antiviral drug
As the world continues to navigate the challenges posed by respiratory viruses, recent developments have highlighted the urgency of advancing our therapeutic arsenal, particularly in the realm of broad-spectrum antivirals. 1. Winter is here. It is wint…
How one family’s hero ended a pandemic [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Shan Liu, an emergency physician and co-author of Masked Hero: How Wu-Lien Teh Invented the Mask and Ended an Epidemic. Discover the journey of Wu Lien-teh, Shan’s great-grandfat…
Pandemic aftermath: Navigating a new normal in health, education, and social dynamics
Psychological distress. In 2021, 40% of high school students felt sad and hopeless, 20% seriously considered suicide, and 10% attempted it, with suicides among young people hitting their highest rates ever, though they fell in 2022. Since the greatest …
Bridging the health care divide: All our actions matter
Much has been written on the social divides laid bare and amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, the more divisive punditry and polemics have receded along with the COVID-19 mandates. And yet, as professionals in health care who have worked in…
CMV: the silent epidemic expectant mothers need to know about [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Megan Nix, a writer and author of Remedies for Sorrow: An Extraordinary Child, a Secret Kept from Pregnant Women, and a Mother’s Pursuit of the Truth. Megan shares her deeply personal …
What should you do if your child is diagnosed with bronchiolitis this cold and flu season?
The cold and flu season is already causing a surge of viral infections among children in doctors’ offices and emergency rooms. Health care providers are urging parents to brace themselves for what’s expected to be another season of COVID-19, infl…
Time to retire quarantine: Why 5-day isolation guidelines are doing more harm than good
I’m making morning rounds on the pediatric unit today: First up, 4-year-old twins with a severe asthma flare; next an infant with bronchiolitis on supplemental oxygen; then a dehydrated 3-year-old listless in bed. These children are all hospitali…
