HIV and ID Observations

May 12th, 2022

As They Say, “Some Personal News”

This week marks the 14th anniversary of HIV and ID Observations, give or take a few weeks. I started writing this blog* in 2008 — and since then there have been 832 posts, a gazillion comments, and one awful (and ongoing) pandemic. For the opportunity, I sincerely thank Matt O’Rourke, a wonderful and generous editor […]

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August 12th, 2018

Apologies, Our E-Mail Notifications Are Not Reliably Going Out

Last week, I wrote something I really wanted my long-time friend and colleague, Susan Larrabee, to read. Susan is the HIV social worker-extraordinaire I’ve been working with for a million years, give or take a few. The piece covered how rewarding it is to care for people with HIV. If anyone could affirm that view, it’s Susan. […]

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June 3rd, 2018

My Dog Louie Was Attacked by Another Dog — He’s Fine, I’m a Mess

On a cool morning recently, I was taking my dog Louie for his morning walk. We headed to a small local park, a place we’ve been hundreds of times in his 5-year life. He loves it. Lots to sniff. A chance to trot around without his leash. Perhaps a soggy tennis ball to chase, after I’ve given […]

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February 20th, 2016

Before CROI 2016, Some Boston Pride — Except for One TINY Detail

Arguably the most important scientific conference in HIV, the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) takes place in Boston next week, as it has many times before. For those expecting hereafter a CROI preview, or anything even vaguely related to Infectious Diseases and/or HIV, you can stop reading right now. Sorry about that — just contact the […]

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November 22nd, 2015

Just Wondering: Quick ID Questions to Consider

Several quick ID queries, some of them answerable on the Google machine — but I’m not going there. Too busy laundering my white coat! What ever happened to amphotericin A? What’s the difference between a “serovar” and a “serotype”? Do dogs feel bad that Pasteurella multocida is more famous than Capnocytophaga canimorsus? Colistin resistance is bad — but how often does colistin actually work […]

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September 13th, 2015

Station Eleven Is a Very Good Read — Even for ID Doctors

One of my colleagues, an MD/PhD, stopped me after our clinical conference a few weeks ago. He does basic science research, doesn’t see patients anymore — but he still comes to our clinical conference. Definitely scores points for that. And for being a very smart, interesting, and nice fellow. This was our conversation, reproduced verbatim: HIM:  Hey Pablo […]

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August 17th, 2015

Dog Days of Summer ID Link-o-Rama

A few ID/HIV items of note to consider as you gather up your sunscreen, flip flops, towels, and sand toys and head off to the beach: Interesting review of the impact of low socioeconomic status in the recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease in the South Bronx. It’s just like (almost) every infection — the combined effects of crowding, poor sanitation, and […]

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June 24th, 2015

Epidemic of Republican Presidential Candidates Shows No Signs of Abating

Chilling news from The Borowitz Report: The number of official candidates for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination has risen to thirteen, according to officials at the Centers for Disease Control… “It might have been misplaced optimism on our part, but we had started to believe that this thing had been contained,” said the C.D.C. spokesman Dr. Harland […]

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May 13th, 2015

WHO Guidelines on Naming Diseases Are Well-Meaning, Sensible — But Kind of Boring

From the World Health Organization (WHO), a recommendation on how to name a new disease: The best practices state that a disease name should consist of generic descriptive terms, based on the symptoms that the disease causes (e.g. respiratory disease, neurologic syndrome, watery diarrhoea) and more specific descriptive terms when robust information is available on how […]

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November 16th, 2014

Electronic Medical Records and the Demise of the Useful Medical Note

Electronic medical records (EMRs) are much on my mind, as last week at Medical Grand Rounds Robert (Bob) Wachter, chief of the medical service at UCSF, gave a brilliant talk on the unanticipated consequences of our move towards what he calls the “Digital Doctor.” Bob has thought a lot about this issue, so much so that he’s about to […]

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