Let’s talk about how hand sanitizer works and when it won’t be sufficient for clearing off pathogens! It’s a powerful tool in your hand hygiene toolbox but doesn’t take the place of washing your hands with soap and water.
Category Archives: Public Health
Malaria
You may have heard that there have been a handful of recent Malaria cases (five) within the United States (Florida and Texas). This is news-worthy because Malaria has been eradicated in the US and, as such, we rarely see any cases that were acquired locally (as opposed to being acquired while traveling outside the US).Continue reading “Malaria”
Pandemic Emergency Status Ending
It’s been just over 3 years since the start of the pandemic and SARS-COV-2 has established itself as a member of our line-up of respiratory viruses. While the WHO declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency and the US is set to end it’s emergency declaration this week, SARS-COV-2 will remain aContinue reading “Pandemic Emergency Status Ending”
Flu Vaccine Coverage
We’ve talked about the flu vaccine here before but we focused much more on vaccine design! In this post I talk more about flu vaccine coverage – what can you expect your annual shot to cover, how the coverage is determined, and why! I also go over the history of flu vaccine efficacy and whatContinue reading “Flu Vaccine Coverage”
Monkeypox Update
Since I first posted this summary infographic a few things have changed… but a lot has stayed the same! The cumulative global count has continued to go up (now at more than 16k) which led the WHO to declare it a global healthy emergency this past weekend. Because mode of transmission is not anything likeContinue reading “Monkeypox Update”
Monkeypox 101
📚Monkeypox 101 A cheat-sheet to our current Monkeypox situation. Along the left-hand side you have a very simplified lineage of orthopoxviruses (the genus of virus that both Monkeypox and Smallpox derive from). I wanted to make it easier to understand how closely related these two diseases are. The lineage also highlights another orthopoxvirus – vacciniaContinue reading “Monkeypox 101”
COVID-19 Breathalyzer
A breathalyzer was just FDA approved for the detection of organic compounds associated with an active SARS-CoV-2 infection! This is not only a fun new diagnostic method but also provides a test with very non-invasive sample collection. The breathalyzer was created by InspectIR using a portable (suitcase size) GC-MS technology. What is GC-MS? In aContinue reading “COVID-19 Breathalyzer”
Got symptoms? Stay home!
Got symptoms? Stay home! Can we normalize staying home if we have symptoms of an infectious disease? For work, for school, for church, for parties, for trips to the store, etc.. With all the talk of testing and the recent updates to the CDC isolation and quarantine guidelines, I think it is important to highlightContinue reading “Got symptoms? Stay home!”
Suicide Awareness X Pandemic
As Suicide Prevention Awareness Month comes to a close, @jessosheamd and I wanted to leave you with a look at how the pandemic has affected overall suicide rates, how you can provide support, and where you can look for help or coping strategies if you are struggling with suicidal thoughts. Suicidal thoughts can affect anyone,Continue reading “Suicide Awareness X Pandemic”
Covid-19 Disease Management
Managing Covid-19 begins with prevention. Eliminating the need for treatment is the goal. But what tools do we have for treating disease progression after exposure or after becoming symptomatic? In this post I summarize what prevention & treatment options we have for managing Covid-19. The content is largely based on the NIH guidelines and recommendationsContinue reading “Covid-19 Disease Management”