Vaccinations have served and continue to serve a critical role in altering many disease courses for our society. Infections that previously caused significant morbidity and mortality are now preventable through this technology. Vaccinations remain especially important for the HIV-positive population because immunosuppression increases the risk and severity of ... Continue Reading
Lessons Learned
By James P. Steinberg, MD, and Jesse T. Jacob, MD
A hospital epidemiology perspective on what we’ve discovered from the infection prevention response to COVID-19 Looking at some of the lessons learned from the response to the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of the hospital epidemiologist, we can improve preparedness for future events by understanding how our hospitals used contemporary knowledge ... Continue Reading
An Unforeseen Threat: The Impact of Viral Hepatitis on Reproduction
By Alexis P. Calloway, M.D
Much focus is given to the long- and short-term impact of commonly tested sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea and HPV on reproductive health. As the medical landscape of diagnosis and therapeutic options for infertility evolve, it is just as important to focus on viral hepatitis as well, with particular emphasis on Hepatitis B and C. Viral ... Continue Reading
HPV Vaccination: Cancer Protection in a Syringe
By Sandra Adams Fryhofer M.D., MACP, FRCP On Feb 1, 2016, President Obama announced “Moonshot,†a new billion-dollar national initiative “to eliminate cancer as we know it.†In his announcement, the President predicted 1.6 million new cancer cases and 600,000 deaths in the United States in 2016. He discussed recent advances in cancer treatment, including using ... Continue Reading
Zika Virus: A Practical Primer for Physicians
By Amanda Feldpausch, MPH; Julie Gabel, DVM, MPH; and Cherie L. Drenzek, DVM, MS The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus primarily transmitted to humans by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, but it can also be transmitted sexually, intrauterine (resulting in congenital infection), intrapartum, via blood transfusion and by laboratory exposure. Zika virus outbreaks ... Continue Reading
Is a Cure for HIV in Sight?
By Vincent C. Marconi, M.D., and Mirko Paiardini, Ph.D. For the first time in almost three decades of AIDS research, the international scientific community has undertaken a large-scale, concerted effort to discover a cure for HIV. Several anecdotal reports and small clinical studies have provided some optimistic insights into the feasibility of HIV eradication. In 2009, ... Continue Reading
Rising up to the Challenges of Adolescent HIV-Infection in Atlanta
By Andres F. Camacho-Gonzalez, M.D., and Sophia A. Hussen, M.D. At a time when HIV rates are stabilizing in most population sub-groups, the prevalence of HIV in youth is steadily increasing in the United States. This trend is explained in part by increased survival of perinatally infected youth, but it is primarily attributable to increases in incident infections during ... Continue Reading
Morehouse Hosts Fourth White House Conference on HIV/AIDS
Morehouse School of Medicine, in partnership with The White House Office of Public Engagement & Office of National AIDS Policy, recently hosted the fourth White House Conference on HIV/AIDS at Morehouse School of Medicine’s Louis W. Sullivan National Center for Primary Care. The White House Conference on HIV/AIDS offers advocates, community leaders and members of the ... Continue Reading
HPV Vaccine Shows Promising Results in Genital Diseases in Young Women
A five-year, multi-site international study has shown that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations given to adolescents and young women decrease the number of abnormal Pap smears, biopsies and cases of genital warts. Since some of these genital abnormalities are identified as precursors to cancer, it is anticipated that these findings will eventually translate into lower ... Continue Reading
Georgia Participates in New HIV Incidence Surveillance System
September 2008 Georgia is one of 22 states that participated in the first collection of HIV-incidence data as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) new national HIV-incidence surveillance system. The new system estimates that 56,300 individuals nationwide became newly infected with HIV in 2006 - a 40% increase from the previous annual estimate of ... Continue Reading
