Physicians should be reminded of the potential for medication errors by pet-owning patients and veterinarians as a result of self-medication. This was the message from a case reported in a clinical communication to the editor by Harmeet Singh Narula, MD, from the Department of Medicine, SUNY Stony Brook, NY, in this month’s American Journal of…
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 cantaloupes that were linked to…
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 1 diabetes is also on…
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. The causative bacterial organism, Listeria…
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 and internet news than via…
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 that aimed to evaluate the…
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 potential for serious health risks. …
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 the Huffington Post, exploring the challenges…
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 chocolate at home! Before you…
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 you have an ideal relationship…
