Journalist and Author
Get Your Shots, Wash Your Hands, Thanks, and Goodbye
A final post from the Superbug blog, with sincere thanks to readers, colleagues and editors.
"We Are Not Ready": Ebola Analysis from Front-Line Workers (And Bill Gates)
A new report from Doctors Without Borders excoriates the international response to Ebola, and at the annual TED conference, Bill Gates outlines how to do better next time.
Ebola Could Cause Thousands More Deaths — By Ushering In Measles
The social disruption and fear created by the Ebola epidemic in Africa may open the door to a second, larger epidemic, of measles.
Your McNuggets: Soon Without a Side of Antibiotics
Fast food giant McDonald’s volunteers to buy only chicken raised without routine antibiotic use, a move likely to shake up both the food industry and agriculture.
Ebola's Not Over For Health Care's Volunteers
Health care workers who caught Ebola while treating its victims in the US and in Africa continue to struggle with poor health and the stigma of the disease.
Resistance: The Movie That Will Make You Care About Antibiotic Misuse
The director of “Resistance,” a new documentary about antibiotic over-use in medicine and agriculture, explains why we should be worried that drugs no longer work.
The Poultry Industry Responds to an Activist Farmer
The poultry industry responds to a farmer who let animal activists into his barns, and then filed for whistleblower protection
A Factory Farmer Strikes Back at the Company He Farms For
A factory farmer who let animal-welfare activists film inside his barns files for whistleblower protection so he can keep farming.
Still Fighting Ebola: A View from Liberia's Front Line
A report from a front-line Ebola fighter working in Liberia shows how much remains to be done to beat the terrifying disease.
How to Fight Superbugs: Start Spending Money
A UK project that raised eyebrows last year with its dire estimate of how many deaths antibiotic resistance will cause returns with a recommendation for global investment in the problem.
The White House 2016 Budget Includes Big Funding for Antibiotic Resistance
The President’s 2016 budget asks for ambitious funding to fight antibiotic resistance, and combatting that healthcare peril may be the one thing both parties can agree on.
A New Polio Case in Pakistan and an Unsolved Epidemic
Pakistan records its first polio case in 2015, and may become the planet’s last refuge for the crippling disease.
The Long Tail of Ebola: Depressing African Economic Progress
We think of epidemics in terms of illnesses and deaths, but the damage they do to national and household economies could last far longer.
2015 Resolution: Accept that Diseases Hop Borders, Don't Dismiss Them, and Don't Panic
In 2014, people over-reacted to Ebola crossing the world, and under-reacted to other diseases that travel. In 2015, we could do better.
Holiday Travel? Get Vaccinated First, or Bring Home Something Unexpected
Happy holidays, constant readers. If you’re like many people, you may be preparing to take a trip, maybe for a break from winter, maybe just to see family. As you’re getting ready, making sure to decant the toiletries and pack the presents unwrapped, here’s one thing not to forget: your vaccinations. Really, this is important. […]
The Coming Cost of Superbugs: 10 Million Deaths Per Year
A project commissioned by the British government gives the estimated costs of antibiotic resistance: 10 million deaths per year, $100 trillion lost global GDP.
Hoping to Change the Industry, a Factory Farmer Opens His Barn Doors
A factory farmer takes the extraordinary step of opening his barn to an animal-welfare activist, and they vow to work together for change.
New Analysis Says FDA Farm Antibiotic Reduction Won't Work As Planned
A just-published analysis says pharma companies are evading the FDA’s hoped-for curbs on antibiotic use in meat production.
To Slow Down Drug Resistance in Health Care, Buy an Antibiotic-Free Turkey for Thanksgiving
How can an average person slow down the advance of antibiotic resistance? A healthcare coalition asks you to buy an antibiotic-free Thanksgiving turkey.
Ebola Here and There: Knowing When It Is And Isn't Over
The US is now Ebola-free, but the disease continues to flourish in Africa — and the track of one new outbreak shows how complicated tracking it has become.