Outbreak

Cale Lawlor
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  • SCIENCE

Outbreak is a podcast that hopes to shine a light into the world of infectious disease and statistics by looking at the science, history and impacts of some of the world's most puzzling and transformative disease events

Episodes

  1. 2019-11-06

    Fever!

    Climate change will have a massive impact on humanity. The changes will be many and diverse, and the health of people all around the globe stands to be greatly impacted in a number of major ways. Sources: Books - A Farewell to Ice: A Report from the Arctic. Peter Wadhams Reports - State of the Climate 2018. CSIRO and Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology Journal Articles - Bambrick, H., Dear, K., Woodruff, R., Hanigan, I. & McMichael, A. (2008). The impacts of climate change on three health outcomes: temperature-related mortality and hospitalisations, salmonellosis and other bacterial gastroenteritis, and population at risk from dengue. Garnaut Climate Change Review, 2008. Bambrick, H. J., Woodruff, R. E. & Hanigan, I. C. climate change could threaten blood supply by altering the distribution of vector-borne disease: an Australian case-study. Global Health Action 2009. Websites - Desertification and flooding among the consequences of the greenhouse effect. Iberdrola. https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/greenhouse-effects-consequences-and-impacts Climate Change Primer. Warm Heart. https://warmheartworldwide.org/climate-change/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgfS6gbPG5QIVmpntCh3LjQlaEAAYASAAEgJeivD_BwE CO2 and Ocean Acidification: Causes, Impacts, Solutions. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/co2-and-ocean-acidification Warming rivers make marked contribution to global greenhouse gas levels. Science Daily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180718143053.htm The underestimated danger of a breakdown of the Gulf Stream System. RealClimate. http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2017/01/the-underestimated-danger-of-a-breakdown-of-the-gulf-stream-system/ What are the effects of climate change? MyClimate. https://www.myclimate.org/information/faq/faq-detail/detail/News/what-are-the-effects-of-climate-change/ France takes steps to avoid repeat of deadly 2003 heat wave. France24. https://www.france24.com/en/20150701-france-paris-heat-wave-alert-deadly-2003-summer-guidelines

    15 min

  2. 2019-11-05

    The Glasgow Effect

    Standing in the affluent part of Glasgow, you can expect the people around you to live for 80 years. On the other side of town, they only live 54 years. The difference in only a few kilometres, but the factors in society and the environment around people can strongly determine their health. The determinants of health give us an insight into the differences we see around the world, and across town Sources: Books – Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design. Charles Montgomery Reports – History, politics and vulnerability: explaining excess mortality in Scotland and Glasgow. Glasgow Centre for Population Health. https://www.gcph.co.uk/assets/0000/5586/History_politics_and_vulnerability.pdf Youtube – ‘Health Inequalities and The Glasgow Effect’ Websites – Social Determinants of Health. HealthyPeople.gov. https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health Indoor Air Pollution. Our World In Data. https://ourworldindata.org/indoor-air-pollution Women and girls. Right to Education. https://www.right-to-education.org/girlswomen Articles – As Scotland’s ‘Trainspotting’ Generation Ages, the Dead Pile Up. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/07/world/europe/scotland-heroin-deaths.html Austerity to blame for 130,000 ‘preventable’ UK deaths – report. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/01/perfect-storm-austerity-behind-130000-deaths-uk-ippr-report Air pollution kills 1.2 mn Indians in a year, third biggest cause of death. Business Standard. https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/air-pollution-kills-1-2-mn-indians-in-a-year-third-biggest-cause-of-death-119040300300_1.html A Short Walk in the Wakhan Corridor. Outside Online. https://www.outsideonline.com/1885016/short-walk-wakhan-corridor Mortality and life expectancy in post-communist countries. Dialogue of Civilisations Research Institute. https://doc-research.org/2018/06/mortality-life-expectancy-post-communist/

    16 min

  3. 2019-07-30

    Siege Mentality

    In 1992, the city of Sarajevo was placed under siege, in what turned out to be the longest siege in modern history. The numbers of death and injury were staggering, but as with siege conditions, there are more effects than just injury. Music: Lost Radiance - On The Planet Far Away (ver. 1) Sources: Journal Articles – Andersson, N., Paredes-Solis, S., Legorreta-Soberanis, J., Cockcroft, A., & Sherr, L. (2010). Breastfeeding in a complex emergency: four linked cross-sectional studies during the Bosnian conflict. Public Health Nutrition. 2010;13 (12): p. 2097 – 2104. Barath, A. (2002). Psychological Status of Sarajevo Children after War: 1999-2000 Survey. Public Health and Peace. 2002; 43 (2): p. 213 – 220. Carballo, M., Simic, S., & Zeric, D. (1996). Health in countries torn by conflict: lessons from Sarajevo. The Lancet. 1996; 348: p. 872 – 874. Carballo, M., Smajkic, A., Zeric, D., Dzidowska, M., Gebre-Medhin, J. & Van Halem, J. (2004). Mental Health and Coping in a War Situation: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 2004; 36: p. 463 – 477. Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). (1993). Status of Public Health – Bosnia and Herzegovina, August – September 1993. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 1993; 42 (50): p. 973, 979 – 982. Goldstein, R. D., Wampler, N. S., & Wise, P. H. (1997). War Experiences and Distress Symptoms of Bosnian Children. Pediatrics. 1997; 100 (5): p. 873 – 878. Hukic, M., Hubschen, J. M., Seremet, M., Salimovic-Besic, I., Mulaomerovic, M., Mehinovic, N., Karakas, S., Charpentier, E., & Muller, C. P. (2012). An outbreak of rubella in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina between December 2009 and May 2010 indicates failure to vaccinate during wartime (1992-1995). Epidemiology and Infection. 2012; 140: p. 447 – 453. Mann, J., Drucker, E., Tarantola, D., & McCabe, M. P. (1994). Bosnia: The War Against Public Health. Medicine and Global Survival. 1994; 1 (3): p. 130 – 146. Obradovic, Z., Balta, S., Obradovic, A. & Mesic, S. (2014). The Impact of War on Vaccine Preventable Diseases. Mater Sociomed. 2014; 26 (6): p. 382 – 384. Pretto, E. A., Begovic, M. & Begovic, M. (1994). Emergency Medical Services During the Siege of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Preliminary Report. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 1994; 9 (2): p. S39 – S45). Puvacic, Z. & Weinberg, J. (1994). Impact Of War On Infectious Disease in Bosnia-Hercegovina. British Medical Journal. 1994; 309 (6963): p. 1207 – 1208. Robertson, A., Fronczak, N., Jaganjac, N., Hailey, P., Copeland, P., & Duprat, M. (1995). Nutrition and Immunization Survey of Bosnian Women and Children during 1993. International Journal of Epidemiology. 1995; 24 (6): p. 1163 – 1170. Rubin, M. (1994). Experiences from the World Health Organization Missions in Sarajevo, 1992-1993. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 1994; 9 (2): p. S8 – S10. Safar, P. (1994). Disaster Medicine and Wartorn Former Yugoslavia. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 1994; 9 (2): p. 91 – 93. Simunovic, V. J. (2007). Health care in Bosnia and Herzegovina before, during and after 1992-1995 war: a personal testimony. BioMed Central. 2007: p. 1 – 6. Vujovic, B. & Mazlagic, D. (1994). Epidemiology and Surgical Management of Abdominal War Injuries in Sarajevo: State Hospital of Sarajevo Experience. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 1994; 9 (2): p. S29 – S34.

    9 min

  4. 2019-07-29

    Black 47

    In 1845, potato blight hit Europe, crippling isolated Ireland. Potato crops failed and despite efforts, famine ensued. But like most famines, it isn't just a lack of food that creates a disaster. Politics has a role to play in human suffering and disease. Music: Lost Radiance - On The Planet Far Away (ver. 1) Sources: Websites – Irish Potato Famine. History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/irish-potato-famine The Blight Begins. The History Place. http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/begins.htm Epidemic Diseases of the Great Famine. History Ireland. https://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/epidemic-diseases-of-the-great-famine/ Journal Articles – Kelly BD. The Great Irish Famine (1845-52) and the Irish asylum system: remembering, forgetting, and remembering again. Irish Journal of Medical Science. 2019 Aug; 188 (3): 953 - 958 Books - Ireland: Land, People, History. Chapter 16: Famine. Richard Killeen

    9 min

  5. 2019-07-29

    The Jungle Book

    Animals are some of our best friends, and have been at our side for millennia. But they can also cause human infections and kick of new epidemics, and all the big pandemics in the recent years, including swine flu, MERS, HIV and Ebola have had an animal origin. Music: Lost Radiance - On The Planet Far Away (ver. 1) Sources: Websites – Rabies. World Health Organisation. https://www.who.int/rabies/about/en/ Origins of the 2014 Ebola epidemic. World Health Organisation. https://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/one-year-report/virus-origin/en/ 2014-2016 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa. Centre for Disease Control. https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/history/2014-2016-outbreak/index.html Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). World Health Organisation. https://www.who.int/emergencies/mers-cov/en/ Forget Ebola, Sars and Zika: ticks are the next global health threat. The Guardian Australia. https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2018/jan/25/forget-ebola-sars-and-zika-ticks-are-the-next-global-health-threat Publications – Drivers of Zoonotic Disease, from Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Diseases. National Research Council (US) Committee on Achieving Sustainable Global Capacity for Surveillance and Response to Emerging Diseases of Zoonotic Origin. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK215318/ Journal Articles – Wang LF & Crameri G. Emerging zoonotic viral diseases. Scientific and Technical Review of the Office International des Epizooties. 2014; 33 (2): 569 - 581 Allen, T, Murray KA, Zambrana – Torrelio, C, Morse SS, Rondinini C, Di Marco M, Breit N, Olival KJ & Daszak P. Global hotspots and correlates of emerging zoonotic diseases. Nature Communications. 2017; 8: 1124 Feldmann H & Geisbert TW. Ebola haemorrhagic fever. Lancet 2011; 377: 849 – 62 Banik GR, Khandaker G & Rashid H. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus ‘‘MERS-CoV’’: Current Knowledge Gaps. Paediatric Respiratory Reviews. 2015; 16: 197 – 202 Ki, M. 2015 MERS outbreak in Korea: hospital-to-hospital transmission. Epidemiology and Health. 2015; 37

    14 min

  6. 2019-07-27

    The Grim Reaper Goes Bowling

    An eerie ad played on Australian television in the late 1980s. The Grim Reaper carelessly bowled balls of death at normal members of society, killing many with his reckless behaviour. What this advert did however was play on the widespread panic that gripped the globe as a massive global pandemic did what the Grim Reaper does Music: Lost Radiance - On The Planet Far Away (ver. 1) Sources: Websites – Precursor to H.I.V. Was in Monkeys for Millenniums. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/health/17aids.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general Origin of HIV & AIDS. Avert. https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/origin History of HIV & AIDS Overview. Avert. https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/overview History of AIDS. History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/1980s/history-of-aids HIV / AIDS. World Health Organisation. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hiv-aids Journal Articles – Fanales – Belasio E, Raimondo M, Suligoi B & Butto S. HIV virology and pathogenetic mechanisms of infection: a brief overview. Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2010; 46 (1): 5 - 14

    16 min

  7. 2019-07-25

    Disease, Be Gone!

    Some disease, theoretically, can be eliminated, and stop causing human disease. But it takes a lot of effort of a lot of people to do this, and there are many barriers standing in the way of eradicating diseases. Some of which are not scientific. Music: Lost Radiance - On The Planet Far Away (ver. 1) Sources: Websites – Smallpox (variola) fact sheet. NSW Health. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/smallpox-variola.aspx A brief history of vaccination. The Immunisation Advisory Centre. https://www.immune.org.nz/node/182 Salk announces polio vaccine. History.com. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/salk-announces-polio-vaccine The History of Vaccines. The History of Vaccines. https://www.historyofvaccines.org/timeline/polio The Principles of Disease Elimination and Eradication. Centre for Disease Control. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su48a7.htm This Week. Global Polio Eradication Initiative. http://polioeradication.org/polio-today/polio-now/this-week/ Guinea Worm Eradication Program. The Carter Centre. https://www.cartercentre.org/health/guinea_worm 28 Guinea Worm Cases Reported in 2018. The Carter Centre. https://www.cartercentre.org/news/features/h/guinea_worm/guinea-worm-update-050619.html Journal Articles - Riedel S. Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination. Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings. 2005; 18: 21 – 25 Zhang XS, Pebody R, Charlett A, de Angelis D, Birrell P, Kang, H, Baguelin M & Choi YH. Estimating and modelling the transmissibility of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus during the 2015 outbreak in the Republic of Korea. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses. 2017 Sep ; 11(5): 434 – 444. Aly M, Elrobh M, Alzayer M, Aljuhani S & Balhky H. Occurrence of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) across the Gulf Corporation Council countries: Four years up date. PLoSONE. 2017; 12(10): e0183850 Reports – History and Epidemiology of Global Smallpox Eradication. From the training course titled "Smallpox: Disease, Prevention, and Intervention". The CDC and the World Health Organization. Slide 16-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20160510161824/http://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/training/overview/pdf/eradicationhistory.pdf

    17 min

  8. 2019-07-18

    The Battle of the Biotics

    91 years ago the medical world changed forever with the discovery of penicillin. Through the hard work of many scientists, today bacterial infections are nearly trivial. But the threat of resistant bacterial is threatening to reverse 100 years of medical progress Music: Lost Radiance - On The Planet Far Away (ver. 1) Sources: Websites – Alexander Fleming. Science History Institute. https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/alexander-fleming Howard Walter Florey and Ernst Boris Chain. Science History Institute. https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/howard-walter-florey-and-ernst-boris-chain Antibiotics found in some of the world’s rivers exceed ‘safe’ levels, global study finds. University of York. https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2019/research/antibiotics-found-in-some-of-worlds-rivers/ Threat of 'nightmare bacteria' exhibiting resistance to last-resort antibiotic colistin. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181220104707.htm Reports – Antimicrobial Resistance: Tackling a crisis for the health and wealth of nations. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/AMR%20Review%20Paper%20-%20Tackling%20a%20crisis%20for%20the%20health%20and%20wealth%20of%20nations_1.pdf No Time to Wait: Securing the Future from Drug-Resistant Infections. Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance. https://www.who.int/antimicrobial-resistance/interagency-coordination-group/IACG_final_report_EN.pdf?ua=1

    12 min

  9. 2019-07-15

    A Train, An Envelope and a Salad Bar

    A train and envelope walk into a salad bar... joke. That's not one of these. Guess the three things these outbreaks have in common... Music: Lost Radiance - On The Planet Far Away (ver. 1) Sources: Websites - Bioterrorism Agents/Diseases. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/agentlist-category.asp Anthrax – including symptoms, treatment and prevention. SA Health. https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/health+topics/health+conditions+prevention+and+treatment/infectious+diseases/anthrax/anthrax+-+including+symptoms+treatment+and+prevention Aum Shinrikyo’s legacy of toxic terror. The Strategist. https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/aum-shinrikyos-legacy-of-toxic-terror/ Aum Shinrikyo: Doomsday Cult That Attacked the Tokyo Subway System. Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/aum-shinrikyo-japanese-doomsday-cult-4171578 When Anthrax-Laced Letters Terrorized the Nation. History.com. https://www.history.com/news/anthrax-attacks-terrorism-letters#gid=ci02349043000326cb&pid=anthrax-letter-1167950 A Strange but True Tale of Voter Fraud and Bioterrorism. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/a-strange-but-true-tale-of-voter-fraud-and-bioterrorism/372445/ Journal Articles - Meselson M, Guillemin J, Hugh-Jones M, Langmuir A, Popova I, Shelokov A & Yampolskaya O. The Sverdlovsk Anthrax Outbreak of 1979. Science. 1994; 266 Grunow R & Finke EJ. A procedure for differentiating between the intentional release ofbiological warfare agents and natural outbreaks of disease: its use inanalyzing the tularemia outbreak in Kosovo in 1999 and 2000. Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 2002; 8: 8

    14 min

  10. 2019-07-14

    The Angel of Death

    The Book of Revelations foretells of the Angel Wormwood falling to Earth and poisoning the rivers. Though this may be a far off event in today's world, to the people of the north of the Ukrainian Socialist Republic in April 1986, this must have seemed liked a reality. Music: Lost Radiance - On The Planet Far Away (ver. 1) Sources: Websites - Chernobyl nuclear disaster-affected areas spring to life, 33 years on. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/04/1037451 Air Pollution Caused Over 1.2 Million Deaths in India in 2017: Report. The Wire. https://thewire.in/health/air-pollution-caused-over-1-2-million-deaths-in-india-in-2017-report Publications - Biology and clinical features of radiation injury in adults. Nicholas Dainiak. UpToDate. Chernobyl: Assessment of Radiological and Health Impacts, 2002 Update of Chernobyl: Ten Years On. Nuclear Energy Agency Environmental Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident and their Remediation: Twenty Years of Experience. International Atomic Energy Agency Books - Chernobyl: A History of Tradegy. Serhii Plokhy TV - Chernobyl. HBO

    17 min

  11. 2019-07-11

    Epidemiology in the Time of Cholera

    In 1854 a cholera epidemic ripped through the heart of London. One visionary scientist believed that he could analyse the outbreak and prevent further spread, in an event that marked the birth of epidemiology and went on to aid the establishment of public health and germ theory. Music: Lost Radiance - On The Planet Far Away (ver. 1) Sources: Past Medical History – John Snow and the 1854 Cholera Outbreak (https://www.pastmedicalhistory.co.uk/john-snow-and-the-1854-cholera-outbreak/) The Lancet – Cholera World Health Organisation – Cholera Fact Sheet (https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cholera) World Health Organisation – Yemen Country Profile (https://www.who.int/countries/yem/en/) World Health Organisation – Weekly Epidemiological Record No. 38 (https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/274654/WER9338.pdf?ua=1) National Geographic – How Cholera Spread So Quickly Through Haiti (https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/haiti-cholera-crisis-united-nations-admission/) Al Jazeera - Yemen: Cholera cases so far this year outstrip 2018 figures (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/yemen-cholera-cases-year-outstrip-2018-figures-190708135559586.html) Al Jazeera - Yemen's cholera outbreak kills over 300 people (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/yemens-cholera-outbreak-kills-300-people-190406101635126.html) MedicalXpress – Mystery of Yemen cholera epidemic solved (https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-01-mystery-yemen-cholera-epidemic.html)

    11 min

  12. 2019-04-22

    Black History

    To look at today, the village of Walsham-le-Willows in Suffolk, Britain, doesn’t let on the depth of its terrifying history. The sleepy main street, with the occasional strolling local and looming church, where one struggles to find a coffee, does not convey the images of suffering and horror that once plagued this village. But this village, like most of Europe and Asia, has a very black history. And for Walsham-le-Willows, this dark time was the mid 1300s Music: Lost Radiance - On The Planet Far Away (ver. 1) Sources: Websites - Ancient History Encyclopaedia (https://www.ancient.eu/article/782/justinians-plague-541-542-ce/ Justinian’s Flea (http://www.justiniansflea.com/events.htm) Contagions (https://contagions.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/plague-at-the-siege-of-caffa-1346/) Bright Hub Education.com (https://www.brighthubeducation.com/history-homework-help/88775-social-effects-of-the-black-death/) BBC - Black Death (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_impact_01.shtml) ABC Science (http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/01/29/2149185.htm) World Health Organisation - Plague (https://www.who.int/csr/disease/plague/en/) Journal Articles - Perry RD & Fetherston JD. Yersinia pestis--etiologic Agent of plague. Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 1997 Jan; 10(1): 35 - 66 Firth J. The History of Plague - Part 1. The Three Great Pandemics. Journal of Military and Veterans' Health - History. 2012 April; Vol 20(2): 11 - 16 Books - The Black Death, The Intimate Story of a Village in Crises, 1345 – 1350. John Hatcher.

    15 min
  • 12 Episodes

About

Outbreak is a podcast that hopes to shine a light into the world of infectious disease and statistics by looking at the science, history and impacts of some of the world's most puzzling and transformative disease events

Information

  • Creator
    Cale Lawlor
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Cale Lawlor
  • Show Website
    Outbreak