Even as public health experts race to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak, a potentially more fearsome and shadowy pandemic—aimed at uninfected people unjustly fingered as potential carriers—grows. https://time.com/5776279/pandemic-xenophobia-scapegoating/
With thousands of species on the move as the climate changes, a growing number of scientists say that the dichotomy between native and alien species has become an outdated concept and that efforts must be made to help migrating species adapt to their new habitats. https://e360.yale.edu/features/native-species-or-invasive-the-distinction-blurs-as-the-world-warms
National Geographic’s part-docu part-sci fi TV series “MARS” featured a contagion on a Martian colony in its fourth episode of season two–and interviews with a few experts on outbreaks, including Pardis Sabeti, Antonia Juhasz, Elon Musk, Neil Degrasse-Tyson, and me. Here’s a link to the show and a screen grab. Enjoy!
It’s really not your fault you’re attracted to that terrible person. How your microbes influence your love life
Top officials such as NIAID’s Anthony Fauci have warned that the mosquito-borne Zika virus spreading in Latin America is a “pandemic in progress.” I think he’s right, although it may not be the kind of pandemic that movies like Contagion bring to mind. Rather than rising death rates, this pandemic could cause falling birth rates. I talked about why that is with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, for his show “GPS.” Stay tuned for a link to the segment! How serious is the threat posed by the #ZikaVirus? I talked with @soniashah. Watch the full interview at 10a/1p ET this Sunday on CNN — Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) January 31, 2016
Al Jazeera published a fascinating in-depth story on India’s malaria epidemic–and its chronic underreporting–and invited a few people to talk about the story with one of the reporters, Ankita Rao, on its show “The Stream.” I Skyped in. Video of the show is below, as is the Twitter conversation that followed. "I couldn't get any biologist to tell me who would suffer if mosquitoes were completely eradicated", says @soniashah. Should we try to? — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 #malaria mosquitoes are different in different regions, you need "local adaptation" in combating approaches, says Dr. Oommen. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 "mosquito nets & spray inside the house have the largest impact" on #malaria prevention, says Ankita @anrao on The Stream. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 @AJStream ever since I started sleeping inside the mosquito treated net, I've not suffered any malaria attack again. Net is the best — ODOZIAKU NGOZICHUKWUAMAKA (@ngangelluv5) January 18, 2016 @AJStream WHO keep failing to defeat malaria so what is their next way of fighting it — Kichime . G. Gongur (@GolitGongur) January 18, 2016 Unlike HIV initiatives, there is "absolute lack of involvement" from ppl affected by #malaria in policymaking towards it, says Dr. Oommen. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 Poor people more likely to get #malaria, but malaria also makes people poor, "it becomes a cycle", says @soniashah on The Stream. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 "The people who need the information don't have it, the people who have the information don't get #malaria" — Dr. Johnny Oommen. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 Malaria triggers other complications, & death is often attributed to these complications instead of malaria, says Dr. Jain @jssbilaspur. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 @AJStream the problem with malaria in third world countries. Are numerous lack of data is a major confounding factor — Steeze Surgeon ???? (@abassajayi) January 18, 2016 @AJStream the problem with malaria in third world countries. Are numerous lack of data is a major confounding factor — Steeze Surgeon ???? (@abassajayi) January 18, 2016 @AJStream Malaria in Nigeria is now as common as a common cold. With resistant anti malaria drugs it now a single most killer. @MMbilal — Ibrahim Tudu 1 ???????? (@ZamfaraNewMedia) January 18, 2016 In certain regions, "small children can have several episodes of #malaria before they're 2 or 3 years old", says @soniashah. — The Stream (@AJStream) January 18, 2016 @AJStream poor Malaria data leads to poor planning and poor planning means poor intervention which is very dangerous especially in Africa — RASHEED OLANREWAJU (@RASHEEDOLANREW1) January 18, 2016 https://twitter.com/nafeezi/status/689168042308292609 https://twitter.com/vnemana/status/689159240921944064 https://twitter.com/vnemana/status/689157613896925184
My book, The Fever, is not uncritical toward the role the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has played in shaping global priorities around malaria. They’re big, they’re aggressive, and as a private entity they’re fundamentally non-democratic. I have a problem with all that, and I’ve written about why in my book and in articles. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that Mr. Gates recommended my book in his blog GatesNotes, and also picked it as the first of just 4 “good disease books” he’s read in recent years. If you want to read just one book about malaria, The Fever is probably the best choice. Author Sonia Shah doesn’t overwhelm you with data and analytics, but she does cover the whole history of the disease, which—as the title suggests—goes back further than you might think. The book was published in 2010, so it’s not totally up to date (most notably, we’ve made progress with rolling out bed nets since then). But it’s a great overview of malaria, its impact, and the solutions to it. -Bill Gates “The Fever” is in extremely good company on Gates’ list. The other 3 “good disease books” are by Bill Foege and D.A. Henderson, leaders of the smallpox eradication campaign, and one of my favorite authors, the physician-anthropologist and founder of Partners in Health Paul Farmer. http://www.gatesnotes.com/Health/4-Good-Disease-Books
There’s a lot of commentary about poverty, development, and medicine out there that is low quality, patronizing, and off-the-mark. I generally try to avoid it and not spend too much time worrying about it. But this New York Times op-ed by Tina Rosenberg just really bugged me. She starts by noting that “we” often think of depression as a “First-World problem.” Do “we” really? I don’t. Then she says that depression is actually “just as widespread” in poor countries, “if not more so.” Again–really? What’s the evidence for this claim? (Clue: “If not more so” is a giveaway–there is no evidence.) Then, instead of backing up this wishy-washy claim that there may be more depression in poor countries compared to rich ones, she says that this could be true because in poor countries, there is “a good deal more to be depressed about.” Seriously? This is, of course, a variation of the colonialist fantasy that all of “us” are enlightened and happy and all of “them” are miserable savages. It’s patently untrue. And it also implies that depression stems from “things to be depressed about,” which it doesn’t. There are people who have everything and suffer depression, and those who have little who don’t. Basically, she’s saying that all people in all poor countries should be more depressed, because their lives are more depressing to the likes of her. Pointing out that mental health care should be part of basic health care, she then points out the dearth of psychiatrists in Liberia and Sierra Leone. That is indeed hard to believe, if you think that Western allopathic medicine is the only kind of medicine there is. But just because these societies do not practice Western-style psychiatry does not in any way mean that her implication–they have no traditional or alternative medical traditions of their own that address mental health–is true. Many societies may even (gasp!) deal with mental health problems better than Western psychiatry does. I don’t know. Tina Rosenberg doesn’t say. She just relies on the colonialist trope instead: “we” have all the best resources and those poor miserable savages have nothing. Recall, too that psychiatry is a relatively new in discipline and one with a highly checkered past. Just a few decades ago, practices that we would today consider barbaric were run-of-the-mill psychiatry. It’s too bad because the essay is about an important subject. Read it for yourself and see what you think.
What an amazing crowd at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students! I gave a plenary about how poverty and deforestation can lead to emerging diseases like Ebola and the politics and science of the troublesome endemic diseases they can become, such as malaria. The audience, of several thousand, was wonderfully receptive and enthusiastic. I wish I’d had more time to take questions afterward! Here’s some Twitter feedback from the crowd. @soniashah it was a true honor and privilege to hear you speak. I study placental malaria and I can appreciate everything you have done. — Young Bodhisattva (@viriyaakarunaa) November 16, 2014 @soniashah it was my pleasure to hear you in @ABRCMS Thanks!! — Carmen Reyes (@biolcarmenreyes) November 16, 2014 @soniashah thank you for your incredible talk today at #ABRCMS. I am completely inspired by your work and look forward to your new book. — Stephen Gamboa (@mrstephengamboa) November 15, 2014 @soniashah Thank you so much for visiting, speaking, and illuminating everyone’s understanding of such an important disease! #ABRCMS2014 — Carmen María Conroy (@CarMarConroy) November 14, 2014 Interesting talk from @soniashah about the socioeconomic and political aspects of epidemics and the spread of disease. #2014ABRCMS — GSK Graduate School (@GSKGradSchool) November 14, 2014 Listening to an excellent speaker @soniashah at @ABRCMS #2014ABRCMS — Carmen Reyes (@biolcarmenreyes) November 14, 2014 Thanks to all for a lovely experience.
Wonderful event at New York Academy of Medicine last night, with Boston University’s Jonathan Simon, human rights activist and pediatrician Dr Annie Sparrow, conservation medicine expert Dr Jonathan Epstein and Google.org’s humanitarian data expert Pablo Maygrundter. About a hundred folks came out for a presentation and discussion of “Mapping Cholera.” Here’s video ICMYI, and some highlights from Twitter too. Thank you to New York Academy of Medicine’s Lisa O’Sullivan and Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting for organizing. @soniashah mapped the cholera outbreak of1832 in NYC which predated London& John Snow by 20 yrs. @NYAMHistory pic.twitter.com/2iZIowzv0r — Jonathan Epstein (@EpsteinJon) November 4, 2014 A dr stopped me on 5th Ave 2 say yr talk on emerging diseases was “studpendous” @NYAMHistory @Pulitzercenter. Kudos! pic.twitter.com/9pxhEPhhFe — Zachary Child (@ZAndrewChild) November 5, 2014 Jon Simon says @soniashah has courage to offer alternative truths. Speaking on cholera at NYAM @Pulitzercenter pic.twitter.com/VDUJ2JmcDF — Kem Sawyer (@kemsawyer) November 5, 2014 In 1832 Five Points in NYC was probably the most crowded place on earth. #histmed @soniashah pic.twitter.com/ZoET09EamJ — NYAMCenterforHistory (@NYAMHistory) November 4, 2014 @soniashah cholera has caused seven pandemics, the last beginning in Haiti in 2010 and continuing today. — NYAMCenterforHistory (@NYAMHistory) November 4, 2014 @soniashah how does a pathogen become a pandemic? What are the political, economic, and social drivers? @Pulitzercenter #MappingCholera — Camilla Hermann (@CamillaFHermann) November 4, 2014 Haiti cholera likely to continue until substantial infrastructure in place. “A bonfire sending out sparks”. @soniashah — NYAMCenterforHistory (@NYAMHistory) November 4, 2014 Very timely event: mapping cholera +pandemics discussion at NY academy of medicine w @pablomayrgundte @soniashah @EpsteinJon @annie_sparrow — Diana Enriquez (@denrsch) November 4, 2014 Once a disease becomes endemic, whether malaria or pneumonia, it becomes normalized, and gets less attention. @soniashah — NYAMCenterforHistory (@NYAMHistory) November 5, 2014 @soniashah connects the dots btwn 1832 NYC #cholera outbreak & pandemics 2day at @NYAMHistory @Pulitzercenter event pic.twitter.com/93SDeuTKsF — Zachary Child (@ZAndrewChild) November 5, 2014 Thx to the speakers at the Mapping Cholera panel last night! @annie_sparrow, @EpsteinJon, @pablomayrgundte @soniashah pic.twitter.com/xyKFBSBrh3 — NYAMCenterforHistory (@NYAMHistory) November 5, 2014 @soniashah fabulous talk @NYAMHistory – TY! (had Q’s, but no time) Can’t wait to read the book, Elaine — Elaine Schattner (@ElaineSchattner) November 5, 2014