Another post that I’m resurrecting because its link disappeared as I transitioned to my self-hosted site! Listeriosis Last year we experienced the biggest food-borne outbreak of listeriosis in this country in over 20 years. At least 30 people across 12 states had died as a result of eating tainted…
Category: Medical
Why is Type 1 Diabetes on the Rise?
We seem to see new headlines about the diabetes epidemic every week. Typically we tend to think of increasing diabetes in terms of the type 2 form of the disease, because of the increased incidence of obesity and poor lifestyle choices. However, there is also plenty of evidence that type…
Cantaloupes and the Multi-State Outbreak of Listeriosis
Listeriosis Last year we experienced the biggest food-borne outbreak of listeriosis in this country in over 20 years. At last count, 30 people across 28 states had died as a result of eating tainted cantaloupes that were linked to one Colorado farm. And a total of 146 cases were confirmed in this outbreak….
Social Media is an Early Indicator of Disease Epidemics
Social and News Media Trends Correlated Well with Officially Reported Data During the 2010 Haitian Cholera Outbreak h Social media certainly tends to get a bad rap sometimes – but did you know that during the 2010 Haitian cholera epidemic, information on disease parameters was transmitted faster via social media…
How Old is Your Surgeon?
If you’re considering surgery any time soon, you might want to take into account the results of a recent study that unveiled a link between a surgeon’s age and the incidence of complications after surgery. Antoine Duclos MD, from the University of Lyon, France, and colleagues performed a multicenter study…
Zoonoses in the Bedroom
Many pet owners were not too happy with the release of a manuscript by veterinarians Bruno B. Chomel and Ben Sun in the February 2011 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Centers for Disease Control. Their article “Zoonoses in the Bedroom” discussed the fact that sleeping with pets has the…
Beyond The Battlefield
This week I heard a radio interview with David Wood. A journalist since 1970, Wood is currently the senior Military Correspondent for the Huffington Post where he covers military issues, foreign affairs, and combat operations. He was talking about “Beyond the Battlefield”, a 10-part series that he recently wrote for…
Don’t Be Tricked By Your Treats!
Well I’m a little old to do the “Trick or Treat” runs these days, but nevertheless I still love chocolate! And who can resist those adorable, bite-sized chocolates that are in abundance at this time of year? I know I can’t – one of the reasons I just don’t keep…
Choosing A Doctor
Do You Need To Choose A New Doctor? Maybe you are moving to a different region, or perhaps there is another reason for changing physicians – some changes in health insurance plans can leave you needing to find a new doctor, for instance. Or maybe you just don’t feel that…
Breast Cancer In Men
It’s natural to focus on women when we think of breast cancer. But we shouldn’t forget that men can develop this condition too. A recent study published in the Journal of Oncology compared trends in breast cancer in 2,665 men and 459,846 women over the last 40 years. Some of the…