HIV and ID Observations

An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
all matters medical, and some not so medical.

August 18th, 2010

Wednesday Wolbachias

gehrig luckiest manSome scattered HIV/ID issues as the days remain warm but are (sadly) growing shorter:

  • Here’s another one of these legal cases in which a person with HIV is charged with a crime for not warning partners about being HIV positive.  Interesting twists this time:  it’s a woman, and it’s in Germany.  This other one in Texas is more typical.  Read Abbie Zuger’s take on all this here from a case in Florida, and my (slightly different) view here.
  • Are rates of MRSA really down?  Amazingly, astoundingly, shockingly — yes, at least in health care settings.  Leading theories for this decline are better prevention efforts for blood stream infections in general and MRSA in particular.
  • From what I’ve read about the new “superbug” (blaNDM-1), it seems to be “just” another carbapenemase-producing gram negative … right?  Just a hunch, but if it weren’t for this choice part — “Several of the UK source patients had undergone elective, including cosmetic, surgery while visiting India or Pakistan” — this might not have made such a splash in the news.
  • One person in New England is sick with Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), likely contracted before the mosquito spraying began up here.  Which reminds me –could there be any advice less heeded than when health departments tell people to wear “long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors” in the summer?  Perhaps the one to “avoid outdoor activity at dusk” is a close second. 
  • Just when you thought the JetBlue flight attendant story could not get more bizarre —  well yes it could.
  • Not an ID-related factoid, but this information about head trauma mimicking ALS is incredibly interesting.  Confession: Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man” speech chokes me up every time.

Oh, and about the title of today’s entry — read about Wolbachias here (a whole book!) and hat tip to Rob Neyer for the style. 

Now I just need a microorganism for every day of the week…

Categories: Health Care


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HIV Information: Author Paul Sax, M.D.

Paul E. Sax, MD

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NEJM Journal Watch
Infectious Diseases

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