By: Sherin Pathickal, PharmD Candidate c/o 2016 – The mandatory receipt of vaccinations as a preventive public health measure has long been a controversial issue in our society.1 Despite the popular use of immunizations, many reservations about vaccine constituents and their safety have prevailed, leading to increasing numbers of unvaccinated people.1 Opponents of vaccinations have…

By: Sabrina Ahmed, PharmD Candidate c/o 2017 – One recent stride towards combating worldwide infectious disease has been in the improved surveillance of Japanese encephalitis in Asia, predominantly in South and South-East Asia. This potentially deadly virus is transmitted to humans via mosquito bites. The Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is the leading cause of encephalitis…

By: Ebey P. Soman – Since its discovery in Tanganyika (modern day Mozambique and Tanzania in Africa) in 1952, Chikungunya virus outbreaks have been documented in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.  Due to recent globalization and increased travel, infection has also spread outside of tropical regions and even into western nations (such as the…