Various bacteria
Category archives for Various bacteria
Student guest post: Cholesterol, a bacterium, and gallbladder cancer
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 26, 2013 It’s time for this year’s second installment of student guest posts for my class on infectious causes of chronic disease. Fourth one this round is by Kristen Coleman. If you are anything like me, you have been told countless reasons over the years why we must watch what we eat, keep our cholesterol intake down, and try…
Treatment of Chronic Otitis Media: Guidelines versus Practice
Posted by Tara C. Smith on February 25, 2013 First of five student guest posts by Kristen Coleman Every morning as I prepare for class, I go through the same internal dialogue, “to wear or not to wear my hearing aide.” I am forced to do this because when I was a child I, like most American children (about 80% by age 3 as…
Plague in Victorian San Francisco–lessons for public health communication
Posted by Tara C. Smith on February 18, 2013 I have a post up today at the Scientific American Guest blog, discussing how an earthquake and denial led to prairie dog plague. It details an outbreak of plague in Victorian San Francisco–the first time plague hit the United States–and the many downstream consequences of that outbreak (which began in 1900 and wasn’t really contained…
Black plague rap (to “Hollaback girl”)
Posted by Tara C. Smith on November 16, 2012 Just…wow.
Did Yersinia pestis really cause Black Plague? Part 5: Nail in the coffin
Posted by Tara C. Smith on August 24, 2012 Despite its reputation as a scourge of antiquity, Yersinia pestis–the bacterium that causes bubonic plague–still causes thousands of human illnesses every year. In modern times, most of these occur in Africa, and to a lesser extent in Asia, though we have a handful of cases each year in the U.S as well. When Y. pestis…
“Spillover” by David Quammen
Posted by Tara C. Smith on August 22, 2012 Regular readers don’t need to be told that I’m a bit obsessed with zoonotic disease. It’s what I study, and it’s a big part of what I teach. I run a Center devoted to the investigation of emerging diseases, and the vast majority of all emerging diseases are zoonotic. I have an ongoing series of…
Here come the ticks: is global warming leading to an increase in Lyme disease?
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 23, 2012 This is the last of 16 student posts, guest-authored by Jessica Waters. Climatologists have been warning us about the ongoing and impending consequences of global warming for years. But the results of climate change affect more than just polar bears and penguins – if you live anywhere in the northeastern, north-central or west coast states of the…
Going out with a Bangs: Control of Human Brucellosis by means of an Animal Vaccine
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 22, 2012 This is the thirteenth of 16 student posts, guest-authored by Jessica Ludvik. One Disease, Many Species Brucellosis, more commonly known as undulant fever in humans or bangs disease in cattle, is one of the oldest bacterial scourges of livestock-producing nations, especially those in which the animals live in close proximity with the human population. The disease…
Coexisting with Coyotes
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 21, 2012 This is the twelfth of 16 student posts, guest-authored by Stanley Corbin. Disease in wildlife is an important concern to the health and safety of humans and domestic animals. The expanding growth of our nation and resultant land use changes with urbanization has resulted in a shrinking habitat and fragmentation for all animals, including humans. The…
Aw Schucks: When the world is NOT your oyster!
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 21, 2012 This is the eleventh of 16 student posts, guest-authored by Ilze Berzins. When one hears the words “food-borne illness”, what comes to mind? For me, I think of a medium rare, pink, juicy hamburger, or something like potato salad that may be made with mayonnaise containing raw eggs, or maybe a fresh green garden salad sprinkled…