HIV and ID Observations

February 10th, 2019

Six Musings Triggered by the Latest Measles Outbreak

In 2018, there were 372 cases of measles in the United States, the largest number since 2014. This year, we’ve already had 79 cases, many from a large outbreak in the Pacific Northwest — where anti-vaccine proponents recently protested efforts to restrict nonmedical vaccine exemptions. A few ruminations triggered by this outbreak. 1. The vaccine is extraordinarily […]

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January 4th, 2016

A Riddle, the 2015 Clinical Trial of the Year, and a Guaranteed Laugh for All ID Doctors

Things quiet on this end recently from me due to various circumstances. but here are three ID-related (sort of) things worth sharing — enjoy if you haven’t seen them already. Let’s start with a riddle: What animal is responsible for the most human deaths a year? Readers of Bill Gates’ blog will think this is old news, but […]

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March 8th, 2015

Measles Vaccine Videos and the Challenge of Changing Someone’s Mind

I suspect most of you have already been treated to this highly amusing video about the measles outbreak from Jimmy Kimmel — a comedy segment featuring real-life doctors, imagine that. Not your typical late-night comedy show performers, but they forcefully (and obscenely) get their message across. If you have just returned from a tropical island where the internet connection was iffy, however, […]

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April 24th, 2014

Pioneering Measles Vaccine Researcher Has Anecdotes, Insight, Perspective, and Generosity to Spare

In the new IDSA/Oxford University Press journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID), we plan to interview a series of great figures in ID about their experiences, posting them as podcasts with accompanying scripts. Our first interview is with Dr. Samuel Katz, a key figure in development of the measles vaccine, and it can be heard here. […]

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