Public Health On Call

About this episode:  
Cooling towers rife with Legionella bacteria are fueling an outbreak of a serious respiratory disease in New York City. Legionnaires' disease is common in the summer months as the water we use to shower and cool our air conditioning systems warms, creating a breeding ground for bacteria. In this episode: Environmental scientist Natalie Exum details the symptoms of Legionnaires' disease, who is most at risk of infection, and how cities can monitor and treat water systems to reduce exposure.
Guest: 
Natalie Exum, PhD, MS, is an assistant professor of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an affiliate of the Johns Hopkins University Water Institute.
Host: 
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 
Show links and related content: 
Fourth death confirmed in NYC Legionnaires' disease outbreak—NBC News

Legionnaires' Disease—NYC Health

Two-Year Evaluation of Legionella in an Aging Residential Building: Assessment of Multiple Potable Water Remediation Approaches—Science of the Total Environment

Transcript information:
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Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:  
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, are the most widely used class of antidepressants. While these medications have undoubtedly saved lives, they have also gained scrutiny for having significant side effects and being difficult to taper off of. In this episode: Two psychiatrists talk about the existing recommendations for deprescribing and why SSRIs remain a critical treatment tool despite pressure from federal health officials to wean Americans off of them.
Guest: 
Dr. Paul Nestadt is an associate professor of Mental Health who studies the epidemiology of suicide and serves as the primary supervising psychiatrist for the Johns Hopkins Hospital Anxiety Disorders Clinic.
Dr. Jimmy Potash, MPH, is the director of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Host: 
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
Show links and related content: 
Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants—The New York Times

Prescriptions for Antidepressants Increasing among Individuals with no Psychiatric Diagnosis—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Tapering of SSRI treatment to mitigate withdrawal symptoms—Lancet Psychiatry

Changes in antidepressant use by young people and suicidal behavior after FDA warnings and media coverage: quasi-experimental study—BMJ

Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder Among Older Adults in Primary Care—JAMA

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
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@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

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Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:  
Recent research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that living in a compact metropolitan setting could yield more health benefits than living in a more sprawling suburban area. In this episode: the report's lead researcher, Shima Hamidi, explains why this is the case and how communities can reshape infrastructure to foster mobility and connection.
Guest: 
Shima Hamidi, PhD, MSc, is a Bloomberg Associate Professor of American Health in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering and director of the Center for Smart Transportation.
Host: 
Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.
Show links and related content: 
Sprawl Rankings Reveal Health Benefits and Cost Offsets in Compact, Connected U.S. County and Metro Areas—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Mapping Urban Sprawl in the U.S.@bloombergamericanhealth via Instagram

Associations between Urban Sprawl and Life Expectancy in the United States—International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Relationship between urban sprawl and physical activity, obesity, and morbidity - update and refinement—Health & Place

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌PublicHealthPod on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

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Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:  
As GLP-1 use surges among U.S. adults for weight loss and diabetes management, researchers are exploring whether these medications could play a role in treating substance use disorders. In this episode: an addiction medicine doctor gives a research update, discusses promising early results, and ponders the larger questions these treatments pose about satiety.
Guest: 
Dr. Sarah S. Kawasaki is the director of addiction medicine services at the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute and an assistant professor of psychiatry at PennState Health. (Full disclosure: Public Health On Call Host Dr. Josh Sharfstein is the proud brother of Dr. Kawasaki)
Host: 
Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 
Show links and related content: 
Can Ozempic Cure Addiction?—The New Yorker

Could popular weight loss drugs become the new treatment for addiction? Evidence is starting to mount—CNN

Efficacy of the GLP-1 receptor agonist, semaglutide, in abstinence from illicit and nonprescribed opioids in an outpatient population with OUD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial protocol—Addiction Science & Clinical Practice

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
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@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

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Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.

About this episode:  
A parasite that can cause severe gastrointestinal discomfort is sickening people across the country. While cyclosporiasis cases are common in summer months, recent outbreaks in states like Michigan have far exceeded typical numbers. In this episode: Food safety expert David Acheson talks about how cyclosporiasis differs from other foodborne illnesses and the importance of a strong public health system for catching contaminants like this. Note: This episode was recorded on July 15, just before the investigation identified lettuce from Taylor Farms, the supplier to Taco Bell, as the culprit.
Guest: 
Dr. David Acheson is the President & CEO of The Acheson Group Consulting Company. With more than 40 years of medical and food safety experience, Acheson has served in prominent roles at the FDA and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Host: 
Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. He served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 2005 to 2009. 
Show links and related content: 
Lettuce at Taco Bell in 5 states confirmed as source of a diarrhea-causing parasite outbreak—AP

Surveillance of Cyclosporiasis—CDC

CDC cuts back foodborne illness surveillance program—CIDRAP

The outbreak that changed meat and poultry inspection systems worldwide—Animal Frontiers

Peanut Outlook: Impacts of the 2008-09 Foodborne Illness Outbreak Linked to Salmonella in Peanuts—USDA

What's Behind All the Food Recalls—Public Health On Call (November 2024)

Transcript information:
Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.
Contact us:
Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.
Follow us:
@‌PublicHealthPod on Bluesky

@‌PublicHealthPod on Instagram

@‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook

@‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube

Here's our RSS feed

Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.