In this episode Lance Waller talks to Jaap de Roode about his new book Doctors by Nature, discussing the many ways in which animals use medicine and what we can learn from them. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What do pigs and chickens have to do with antibiotic resistance? In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Maya Nadimpalli explains how the overuse of antibiotics in the livestock and poultry industry selects for drug-resistant bacteria that can end up causing untreatable infections in humans in low-income settings. Reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics is key, but as Nadimpalli explains, improving water and sanitation infrastructure can also go a long way. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

From two stripes to one: many of us have felt the relief when our at-home COVID-19 test finally turned negative. While COVID-19 infections generally last days to weeks, some people can be infected for years. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Amber Coats explains how those long-lasting infections contribute to the evolution of new variants of concern, thereby causing new epidemic waves that require updated vaccines. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Using fertilizer to increase plant growth and crop production is common practice. But fertilizing to make snails grow? Not so much. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, LM Bradley explains why she is fertilizing water bodies to increase algal production and therefore aquatic snail growth. Teaser alert: the snails transmit schistosome parasites, and by fertilizing them, Bradley aims to understand how cattle waste can increase disease outbreaks.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

If your dream is to discover a new scary virus, then this episode of the Virulent Vortex is for you. Anne Piantadosi is passionate about ticks and employs a technique called metagenomics to identify and discover new viruses that are vectored by these eight-legged creatures. As a medical doctor, she is also especially tuned into the symptoms that could indicate that her patients have tick-borne infections. Oh, and she wears tick earrings.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Severe diarrheal disease can be caused by many different pathogens, but doctors will often prescribe bacteria-killing antibiotics, even when the disease is caused by viruses. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Liz Rogawski McQuade explains that this unnecessary use of antibiotics is risky business. The antibiotics can select for drug-resistance in pathogenic bacteria that are lurking in the guts of patients. These bacteria can cause hard-to-treat disease in these patients, or even spread to other people in the community.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What do Ebola and COVID-19 have in common? Both are caused by viruses, and both can be controlled using contact tracing and smart vaccination campaigns. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Natalie Dean explains how her studies of Ebola outbreaks in west Africa provided insights into ring vaccination and pandemic preparedness, with lessons for COVID-19 and future pandemics. She also discusses the difficulties of communicating science and the importance of acknowledging uncertainty. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Have you ever been scared of becoming a mushroom-spreading zombie? This scenario may sound familiar to viewers of the sci-fi show The Last of Us. While chances are low, fungal infections are in fact on the rise. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Ani Deshpande explains how global warming is increasing the risk of pathogens, including fungal pathogens that cause pneumonia and viruses that cause diarrhea.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, host Jaap de Roode is interviewed by Lance Waller to discuss his research on malaria and butterfly disease. Crossing scales, de Roode’s work tries to understand how competition between malaria parasites within patients drives the spread of drug resistance at the population level. And viewing host-parasite interactions as part of larger ecosystems, he describes how monarch butterflies can use toxic plants as herbal medicine.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Patients with cystic fibrosis are especially vulnerable to infections with harmful bacteria, including staph and Pseudomonas. In this episode of the Virulent Vortex, Ashley Alexander explains that these bacteria often co-infect the same patient. She discusses her studies to find out how interactions between these bacteria can contribute to disease. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.