Diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, or any type of pathogen
As someone who recently had the distinctly unpleasurable experience of shingles, I decided to research the vaccines available for this viral disease. Shingles is caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), which also causes chicken pox (Figure 1). VZV is a type of herpes virus. Presently, in the US, most children are vaccinated against chicken pox. … Read more
A friend with kids who just went back to school asked me about using various zinc products to reduce the length of or prevent the common cold. Years ago, I tried the nasal swab version of one of these products (Zicam) and was amazed at how painful they were. This prompted me to research the … Read more
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming a major threat to human health (Figure 1). After a recent scare with a relative who contracted pneumonia while in the hospital, I began to think about antibiotic resistance and how bacteria become resistant even to those antibiotics that are rarely used, such as the carbapenem antibiotics. Bacteria can be infected … Read more
What is a vaccine? A vaccine may be described as medicine that stimulates an immune response with a “memory.” Many people also consider a vaccine to be a medicine that prevents a disease caused by a pathogen. Indeed, the first vaccines were ones that prevented infectious diseases, such as polio and measles. Some vaccines have … Read more
Lyme disease is caused by bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia afzelii, and Borrelia garinii) that are delivered by a bite from an infected tick (Figure 1). The Centers for Disease Control (1) recommend a preventative (prophylactic) single dose of the antibiotic doxycycline for adults bitten by a mosquito with a high probability of carrying the Lyme-causing … Read more