Video: Update on emerging infectious diseases

BOSTON — The emergence of infectious diseases can be tied to events like climate change, social change and political trends, according to an expert.

Heather C. Yun, MD, USAF, FACP, deputy commander for medical services at Brooke Army Medical Center, recapped her talk at the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting, focusing on three areas: multidrug-resistant organisms, including the “alarming spread” of Candida auris; outbreaks, like those affecting medical tourists; and the spread of tropical diseases in the United States — think malaria and dengue — driven by climate change.

“A lot of the things that we’ve typically characterized as diseases of other countries have really become an increasing threat in the U.S. as our climate changes, as our summers get hotter, as the winters get shorter, as the oceans get warmer,” Yun told Healio.

Last year, Yun gave a talk at the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting discussing the biggest developments in infectious diseases in the past year.

Reference:

• Yun HC. (Re)emerging pathogens: New bugs on the rise. Presented at: ACP Internal Medicine Meeting; April 18-20, 2024; Boston.