Dr. John Carvalho's Mini-Review Of "Introduction To Global Health" By Kathryn H. Jacobsen:  I wanted to take a few moments to endorse the "Introduction to Global Health" textbook by Kathryn H. Jacobsen.  Jacobsen has been a global health expert for many years.  The chapters in her introductory book are perfect for beginning undergraduate or graduate students in the field of global health.  She covers a wide array of topics including the kinds of statistics used, the infectious disease causing organisms around the world, nutrition deficiencies, economics and health financing, and the status of national disease burden.  Jacobsen's book is reminiscent of my various virology courses that I have taught at both Harvard University and California State University, Dominguez Hills (Medical and Molecular Virology: Virus Diseases and World Health; Virology; Advanced Virology).  I applaud her for linking the ideas of how poverty exacerbates and feeds off of infectious diseases/national health and how education also plays a critical role.  These concepts have been talked about in my own scholarly writings and have been taught in my courses.  Similarly, I acknowledge her excellent chapters on the Millennium Development Goals, the UNHCR, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  These ideas are inseparable from virology on the global level and are critical for understanding public health and truly gauging "outcomes" of public health policy.  In conclusion, Jacobsen's book is a MUST READ for any beginning global health student.

Help Donate To Typhoon Victims Relief Effort

The problems of climate change are real, as is evidenced by the recent typhoon in the Philippines.  To donate to the relief effort, please go to the attached link.  Doctors Without Boarders has been a stalwart, Nobel Peace Prize winning organization on the front lines of world crises.https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/truenorth/onetime_philippines.cfm?source=AZD131101D01&q=general_C_US_Haiyan&source=AZD131101D01&gclid=CIbFwpWc4LoCFe1xQgodcwsAgw&mpch=ads

Mosquito That Carries Dengue Virus And Yellow Fever Virus Discovered In California

I teach Virology and Advanced Virology courses at the University and I found this news article interesting.  The mosquito that carries various viruses including Dengue virus and Yellow Fever virus has been discovered in California.  Presently, we have a vaccine for Yellow Fever (17D), but none for Dengue virus.  http://www.ibtimes.com/yellow-fever-mosquito-aedes-aegypti-found-california-very-difficult-control-1433136

The 2013 Nobel Prizes are now being announced.  Congratulations to all of the Nobel winners.http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/nobel-2013/

UNITED NATIONS Report On The Status Of The Millennium Development Goals For 2013

As stated earlier in my previous posts, I would keep my readers up to date on where the millennium development goals presently stand around the world.  Some of my philosophical and scientific work has direct relation to these goals.  Here is the latest report by the United Nations on where these goals stand.  Please also consult economist Jeffrey Sachs' book entitled "The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities of Our Time" and Nobelist Amartya Sen's work "Development as Freedom" and The United Nations "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" for background reading to this topic.http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/report-2013/mdg-report-2013-english.pdf

California Association For Medical Laboratory Scientists Posts Carvalho's Views On Shortage Of Trained Clinical Microbiologists

Special thanks to The California Association For Medical Laboratory Scientists for posting our articles on the shortage of trained clinical microbiologists in the state of California.  We will be monitoring the status of the profession over the next year to see how the California State Legislature and area universities and hospitals address the issues concerning the profession.

Revisiting The Millennium Development Goals Years Later

A number of years ago, I published papers revealing how biologists could engage the wider global health community.  This year, I would like to explore the status of the millennium development goals in light of the global economic crisis.  During the year, I will post articles and information by the United Nations, global health experts, and economists revealing their opinions on where these millennium development goals stand at this time.  The year 2015 was considered a big year for the world community with respect to global healthcare and the eradication of abject poverty.

Hospitals Within Vietnam, Brazil, and Argentina Begin Exploring Methods For Speciating The Enterococci

Hospitals within the nations of Vietnam, Brazil, and Argentina are beginning to review the methods of speciating Enterococcus faecalis from Enterococcus faecium using the cost-effective methods from Dr. Carvalho's laboratory.  Within the coming years, it may be possible that these methods will be employed in a number of developing world hospitals.

OUR COMMON ENEMY: COMBATTING THE WORLD'S DEADLIEST VIRUSES TO ENSURE EQUITY HEALTH CARE IN DEVELOPING NATIONS

In a previous issue of Zygon (Carvalho 2007), I explored the role of scientists—especially those engaging the science-religion dialogue—within the arena of global equity health, world poverty, and human rights. I contended that experimental biologists, who might have reduced agency because of their professional workload or lack of individual resources, can still unite into collective forces with other scientists as well as human rights organizations, medical doctors, and political and civic leaders to foster progressive change in our world. In this article, I present some recent findings from research on three emerging viruses—HIV, dengue, and rotavirus—to explore the factors that lead to the geographical expansion of these viruses and the increase in frequency of the infectious diseases they cause. I show how these viruses are generating problems for geopolitical stability, human rights, and equity health care for developing nations that are already experiencing a growing poverty crisis. I suggest some avenues of future research for the scientific community for the movement toward resolution of these problems and indicate where the science-religion field can be of additional aid

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2009.00985.x/abstract

The Scientist As Statesman: Biologists And Third World Health

One of the most threatening problems the world faces is the growing poverty crisis and the related human rights inequalities and the spread of diseases in underprivileged areas. Human rights and relief organizations try hard to contain the devastation of these interconnected difficulties. What is the role of the biomedical scientist in this endeavor? The challenges that biomedical scientists face in their research lead us to question whether scientists can go beyond the time-consuming realm of experimental investigation and engage the issues of society in a more public way. I suggest how the scientist's role can be expanded in our complex and precarious world, introducing the idea of the modern biomedical researcher as scientist, scholar-philosopher, and statesman for the scientific community and the larger human rights community. I provide examples of where the scientist can interface with human rights organizations, medical doctors, political and civic leaders, and the science-religion dialogue. My argument reveals the emerging role of the biomedical scientist as one of public service in addition to and beyond the realm of the experimental investigator. This role, however, is formidable, and I list some of the obstacles it entails.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2007.00289.x/abstract

Carvalho Receives The Faculty Legacy Award

Dr. John Carvalho has received the faculty legacy award from the Emeritus Faculty Association of California State University Dominguez Hills for his biomedical research on pathogenic enterococci.

Frontiers in Biology Publishes Dr. Carvalho's Research On The Enterococci

Visit the science journal "Frontiers in Biology" to see Dr. Carvalho's latest articles on biomedical research on the enterococci.

http://journal.hep.com.cn/biology/index.jsp

Dr. Carvalho's Laboratory Publishes Review Of The Enterococci

One of the goals of Dr. Carvalho's laboratory is to provide simple, cost-benefit, high-throughput technologies to distinguish various bacterial species from each other.  These technologies are helpful in developing world hospitals, where the vast majority of the budget for health science is earmarked for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.  New technologies that are affordable for these developing world hospitals will improve their clinical microbiology work.  This review gives an overview of one bacterial genus, Enterococcus, and discusses the issues facing clinical diagnostics for this genus in the developing world hospitals.

Carvalho Speaks Out On Shortage Of Clinical Microbiologists For U.S. Healthcare

http://www.csudhnews.com/2011/10/john-carvalho-shortage-of-microbiologists-health-care-shortfall/

Importance of clinical microbiologists for U.S. healthcare infrastructure.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21905578