What Other Diseases Can Be Mistaken For A Zika Virus Infection?

Gavin Harris, MD, provides some context around what is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo regarding the outbreak including the country’s inherent challenges as well as discussing the latest in testing, vaccines, and treatments of this rare strain of Ebola.

In the first episode of our news series looking at the food safety network, Lynette Johnston, PhD, offers insights into how the federal government surveillance infrastructure operates, and how epidemiologists serve as food detectives in determining bacterial pathogens and potential foodborne outbreaks.

In mid-May, as the world was still grappling with an unexpected hantavirus outbreak aboard a tourism vessel, news broke of an Ebola outbreak in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo spanning at least 3 health zones, including Bunia, Rwampara, and Mongbwalu.

A "Clinician Outreach" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in April anticipated an increase in rabies exposures, and the striking surge in case reports this summer prompted a recent health advisory alert from the federal agency.

Food expert Lynette Johnston, PhD, provides some context around the ongoing outbreak, discusses prevention, and compares 2026 food recalls with previous years.

The Peggy Lillis Foundation will host its 17th Annual Changing the Odds Gala this month in New York City, and it will include a casino, fellowship amongst the C diff community, and an award ceremony honoring a physician-scientist, philanthropist, a researcher, and a patient advocate for their contributions to C difficile awareness, treatment, and prevention.

Resistance-guided testing targeting a single gene mutation could let clinicians safely reintroduce ciprofloxacin for the majority of gonorrhea cases still susceptible to it, sparing ceftriaxone as resistance climbs worldwide. Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz, MD, MPH, offers insights into his work in this area.

In the third episode of the series with Perry N. Halkitis, PhD, MS, MPH, he discusses how human behavior as well as other factors play a significant role in repeating outbreaks.