Flattening the Curve: Radio MD / VCU Health Podcast

For those interested in my recent Radio MD / VCU Health podcast on flattening the curve, the podcast and transcript are available here.

Spanish Language Interview: Telemundo USA

A quien le interesa, vea a través de este link mi entrevista el otro día en Telemundo.

Fact or Fiction? VCU Health COVID-19 Webinar, March 26, 2020

For those interested in our most recent webinar on COVID-19, please see this link or the video above.

I was honored to participate with Drs. Richard Wenzel and Mike Stevens.

Dr. Richard Wenzel: Comparing COVID-19 with H1N1 and other viral outbreaks

For the brief question and answer with our very own Dr. Richard Wenzel, please see this article.

The video is above and accessible via this link.

VCU COVID-19 Congressional Virtual Tour

On March 20, 2020 VCU Health hosted a virtual tour for Virginia politicians including Governor Ralph Northam, US Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine along with US Representatives Bobby Scott and Abilgail Spanberger. 

The above video was part of the tour, followed by a virtual Q+A session. I was honored to be included.

The COVID-19 response is all consuming and certainly not unique to VCU Health.

Debunked: The War on Pestilence Declared Won, US Surgeon General Dr. William Stewart

Dr. William Stewart Source: The New Yorker

“It is time to close the book on infectious diseases, and declare the war against pestilence won, ” infamously attributed to the United States Surgeon General, Dr. William H. Stewart (1965-1969).

With the current COVID-19 pandemic, this seems more preposterous than ever.

But is this attribution true?

Check out this publication, one in which the researchers undertook a comprehensive search of multiple databases across the medical literature, news articles, and congressional records to attempt to identify sources for the quote.

No source for this quote was identified.

Perhaps it is time to exonerate Dr. Stewart.

The Plague by Albert Camus: Now More Popular Than Ever

It seems like in the midst of a real plague, like COVID-19, we seek novels about fictional plagues.

Publishers are reporting spikes in the sales of The Plague by Albert Camus, as summarized here in The Guardian. Apparently it is out of stock on Amazon! Uncanny.

The Plague is a fine read, however, I prefer Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe, available here via Project Gutenberg.

For those  seeking a similar fictional experience yet more suitable to a shorter attention span, the film Contagion by Steven Soderbergh will suffice.

Enjoy.

You Very Own Personal and Portable UVC Device for Stethoscope Disinfection

This post contains no further mention of COVID-19! I need a break from the mayhem.

I read with interest this report, published in Infection Control and Hosital Epidemiology, on the efficacy of a wearable UVC device for semi- automated decontamination of stethoscopes between use. The disinfection cycle of the stethoscope takes approximately 3 minutes.

Stethoscopes are potential fomites. The  proportional impact of  stethoscopes on healthcare associated infections (HAIs) remains unknown. A wearable UVC device may indeed decrease stethoscope bioburden yet doing so may not largely impact HAIs. The idea is certainly novel yet may be costly when implemented to scale.

At present, I prefer my rapid stethoscope disinfection with an alcohol wipe, a practice which is both cheap and simple.

Novel Coronavirus and Hospital Infection Prevention: Preparing for the Impromptu Speech

“It usually takes me two or three days to prepare an impromptu speech.”
― Mark Twain

Our latest commentary, Novel Coronavirus and Hospital Infection Prevention: Preparing for the Impromptu Speech is now published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, available here in PDF,

The article is free and open access.

The Psychological Impact of Quarantine: Review of the Evidence

Source: KFORNOW.com

In this time of COVID-19 there is much talk about isolation and quarantine.

If you seek a timely and high quality read on the psychological impact quarantine and how to reduce it, look no further. Click here for this recent publication in the Lancet Infectious Diseases.

An important message is to emphasize the altruistic choice of self-isolation, this may limit the negative psychological consequences.

To quote the authors...depriving people of their liberty for the wider public good is often contentious and needs to be handled carefully.

Agreed.