Chikungunya: A Long-Term Perspective

07/12/12 • 9 min

Dr. John Bartlett talks about long-term sequelae of chikungunya viral infection, the limitation of self-reporting, and the serendipity that sometimes results in medical epidemiologic discovery.

Dr. John Bartlett talks about long-term sequelae of chikungunya viral infection, the limitation of self-reporting, and the serendipity that sometimes results in medical epidemiologic discovery.

Previous Episode

Pinning Down Pleural Effusion: Prelude to a Revolution

Dr. John Bartlett discusses the article “Systematic Use of Universal 16S rRNA Gene Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Sequencing for Processing Pleural Effusions Improves Conventional Culture Techniques." Exciting new molecular techniques are being developed that will be able to identify the total bacteriology of almost any specimen. The microbiology lab of the future will look very different; agar plates may be obsolete. Clinicians can look forward to getting an etiologic diagnosis within hours rather than days, leading to better targeting of antibiotic treatment. See ya, seaweed!

Next Episode

Unicuspid, Bicuspid, Tricuspid--A Valvular Story

Dr. Roy Ziegelstein discusses the value of autopsies and the incredible, indelible effect of seeing pathology revealed in figures. Readers will be blown away by the beauty of the figures and the correlation of the pictures with the description of pathology presented in the article "Natural History of Adults With Congenitally Malformed Aortic Valves (Unicuspid or Bicuspid)," in the November 2012 issue of Medicine. The article is a tour-de-force that may not be seen again as autopsies become more rare. These images can have a lasting effect on a clinician's practice.