News

Explore how mistrust and hesitancy towards vaccines have arisen over time and how these attitudes have impacted public health. Additionally, we will discuss what can be done to build trust in vaccines and reduce hesitancy.

“To compile the data, investigators searched 10 keywords on GIDEON (Global Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Network) and CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) databases… if someone wants to “do a modeling study and they want to focus on a specific area, the specific examples in the literature are already there” in the extensive database.”

The virus responsible for chickenpox and shingles has a fascinating epidemiological history. Join our resident epidemiologist Kim Hazel, MPH, to learn about the only shingles outbreak ever recorded, the changing public approach to the Varicella-Zoster virus, and why it is so hard to eradicate. Fun trivia included!

How can a clinician diagnose imported monkeypox and prevent its spread? And what happens when chocolate eggs become vectors for salmonella? Join Stephen A. Berger, MD, and review two recent events: the ongoing multi-national outbreak of Monkeypox and 187 cases of salmonellosis attributed to Kinder Surprise products.

Did you know GIDEON can help with your systematic reviews? Or that you can use a dynamic decision tree to identify Staphylococcus aureus in 10 seconds or less? Learn the other 8 things you can do with GIDEON that may surprise you! Check out our webinar recording to learn about what GIDEON can do, some sweet tips, and maybe a chuckle or two.

Excerpt from the book Every Patient Tells a Story: Medical Mysteries and the Art of Diagnosis by Lisa Sander:

“Laboratory cultures of blood and stool could probably provide an accurate identification, but this would take days. And this patient was too sick to wait. <…> Dr. Bia turned to his computer and consulted his own expert – GIDEON. <…> Within ten minutes he had a plan. “I used GIDEON to be certain I didn’t miss anything,” he told me later. “It confirmed my hunch about the best way to proceed.”

In March 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) was notified of a few cases of polio circulating in Jerusalem, Israel. As of April 15th, 2022, one unvaccinated four-year-old child had symptoms of polio, but the rest of the six were asymptomatic. The polio cases detected in Israel are circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 3. 

To make sense of the latest polio news for us, an infectious disease expert, Dr. Stephen Berger (MD), discusses polio cases, vaccines, and more on a podcast with Robert Herriman of Outbreak News. 

“Outbreaks of zoonotic diseases are accelerating at an unprecedented rate in the current era of globalization, with substantial impacts on the global economy, public health, and sustainability… To address this knowledge gap, we use a global database of 10,473 zoonosis events since the year 1348 (compiled with the assistance of GIDEON)…”

“The database contents are extensive: some epidemiological data goes back to 1348, and around 2,000 pathogens, 360 diseases, and 30,000 drugs and vaccines are included. The sources for the information are clearly indicated, including abstracts for academic articles <…> Epidemiologists, public health professionals, and researchers in pharmacology, infectious diseases, and molecular sciences will find this database invaluable, and students/faculty in these areas likely will too.”

“GIDEON, one of the world’s leading databases on infectious diseases, released their robust 2022 COVID-19 e-book, the most comprehensive data on the disease to date. GIDEON subscribers can also access updated 2022 versions of over 424 ebooks on other infectious diseases….”

“Every war has two types of battles, one against the enemy and the other against infection. Combat greatly increases the risk for the spread of infectious diseases. Pneumonia, dysentery, and scores of other contagions can severely magnify the devastating losses of war,” says Uri Blackman, CEO and co-founder of GIDEON Informatics. “To help the brave medics of Ukraine in their fight, GIDEON has released a comprehensive ebook of infectious diseases – focused on Ukraine.”….”

“This new addition was a popular request by veterinary colleges around the world. Prion diseases affect the brains of animals and humans and are generally fatal. There are no known drugs for these conditions and no vaccines….”