Infectious Diseases

Despite the development of vaccines, polio still finds opportunities to thrive. This program outlines the history of humanity's battle with the virus-including its appearance in ancient Egypt and the 20th-century struggle against it championed by FDR. The video also highlights the present-day efforts of health organizations and charitable groups to globally eradicate the disease. Interviews with UNICEF and WHO leaders accompany scenes from vaccination campaigns in the African nation of Burkina Faso and in Aligarh, India. The program emphasizes the need to work within local cultural conventions in order to maximize communication and outreach. (54 minutes)

Despite the highest sanitary and medical standards, diseases once extremely rare in developed nations are now on the rise. Has ultra-hygienic living unwittingly made us the enemies of our oldest allies? This program examines compelling evidence for the hygiene hypothesis," which suggests that indiscriminate war on all microscopic organisms may be bad for our health. Immunologists, epidemiologists, microbiologists, gastroenterologists, and environmental health experts comment on dramatic increases in allergies, auto-immune diseases, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Case studies of asthma, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, and eczema illustrate radically new approaches to treatments. (51 minutes)"

This program provides a clinical overview of benign bacteria that commonly colonize the human body and, less commonly, pathogens of both infectious and transient asymptomatic strains. Two dramatized throat examinations demonstrate the diagnosis of Streptococcus pyogenes and infectious mononucleosis. Laboratory analysis of a throat culture and a blood sample is demonstrated. Slide images, diagrams, and lists of microorganisms are also incorporated into the video. (15 minutes)

When a crypt containing 200 extraordinarily preserved bodies was discovered in 1994 in the Hungarian town of Vac, it caught the interest of a scientist fighting tuberculosis on the other side of the globe. This program presents the fascinating story of Professor Mark Spigelman, an Australian surgeon turned archaeologist who is using ancient DNA to contend with the biggest bacterial killer in the world today. In what many call the post-antibiotic era, Spigelman's unique genetic research has yielded encouraging results: all the tubercular mummies were missing a TB-resistant gene in their genome; those mummies without TB had the gene. (27 minutes)

Drawing on documentary and archival footage, 3-D and 2-D animations, and high-tech imaging, this program investigates a variety of virological topics: the nature of pandemics as illustrated by the SARS outbreak in China; genetic sequencing of Spanish influenza from exhumed tissue of a century-old corpse; how animal viruses jump the species barrier; the dissection of live viruses in a biosafety level 4 lab; the work of an Ebola research team in Gabon; the discovery of mimivirus; applications of Onyx-015, a genetically engineered adenovirus; and more. Vincent A. Fischetti, of The Rockefeller University; Jeffery Taubenberger, of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; Y. Guan, of The University of Hong Kong; Didier Raoult, of the French National Center for Scientific Research; and other leading virus specialists are featured. (53 minutes)

Ebola, one of the most deadly viruses known to humankind, struck a town in Zaire in January 1995, ultimately causing the agonizing death of 80 percent of its victims-many of them health-care workers. This riveting documentary traces the progress of this outbreak and reports on its aftermath. Doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discuss current research, the virus's possible reemergence, and what the international medical community is doing to prepare itself. We visit a ready-response medical unit where health-care workers are being trained to deal with future outbreaks. English narration and subtitles. (61 minutes)

An outbreak of mad cow disease shut down Britain's cattle industry, resulting in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals and costing the nation billions of dollars. What is mad cow disease, scientifically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy? Could an outbreak happen in the U.S.? What other types of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are out there? What precautions is the USDA taking to reduce the likelihood of occurrence and stem the spread of these degenerative neurological diseases among animals and people? And what might happen if those precautions fail? This program answers those and other questions as it sheds light on this emerging group of food-borne diseases. Chronic wasting disease, Norwalk virus, and bovine tuberculosis are also addressed. Correlates to the Health National Standards from the Joint Committee for National School Health Education and the American Cancer Society and the National Content Standards for Health according to the American School Health Association. A Cambridge Educational Production. (17 minutes)

Quick to spread and develop resistance to medical intervention, new strains of microbes pose a growing threat to global health. How does overuse of antibiotics actually encourage more lethal strains of diseases believed to be conquered? How can the media successfully inform the public without causing panic? And should personal rights be curtailed during epidemics? This Fred Friendly Seminar, moderated by Harvard Law School's Arthur Miller, examines the biological, ecological, and cultural factors influencing the causes, spread, and control of infectious diseases. Panelists include Nobel Laureate Joshua Lederberg; David Kessler, former chairman of the FDA; Robert Moellering, Jr., of Harvard Medical School; C. J. Peters, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and others. A Discussion Guide and other resources are located online at www.fredfriendlyseminars.org/epidemic. (57 minutes)

Avian influenza A (H5N1) has successfully made the leap from poultry to people. Is a human-to-human pandemic inevitable? Using Southeast Asia as a case study, this Wide Angle report looks at the Vietnamese government's efforts to contain the disease while educating its population. In addition, Bill Moyers speaks with Dr. Anthony Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health, about how this lethal virus mutates and spreads, symptoms of infection, best- and worst-case survival scenarios, the vaccination development process, and whether there will be enough vaccine in the event of a major outbreak. (57 minutes)

This collection of 54 video clips (1 minute to 2 minutes 30 seconds each) takes a close look at infectious diseases and medical disorders, spotlighting AIDS, ALS, Alzheimer's disease, aneurysms, asthma, autism, avian flu, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, food allergies, heart attack, Huntington's disease, macular degeneration, malaria, Marburg virus, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson's disease, Spanish influenza, spinal cord injury, stroke, and West Nile virus. Video clips include... Infectious Diseases • Marburg Virus Treatment • AIDS-Immune • How Viruses Infect • Disease Travel • Flu-Blocker • Flu Shot • Making Killer Flu • Flu Jail Cells • Bird Flu Clues • Killer Flu Re-created • MD on a Chip • Cell Scouts • Malaria Milestone • West Nile Airplanes • West Nile Shot Medical Disorders • Allergies and Genes • Food Allergy Vaccines • Food Allergy Hope • Lost Nerve Power • Alzheimer's Gene • Alzheimer's Trial Update • Alzheimer's Identification • Alzheimer's Smell Test • Shrinking Brains • Curry and Alzheimer's • Apples for Alzheimer's • Brain Pills • Wine Therapy • Alzheimer's Scans • Reagan and Alzheimer's • Breathing Clear • Asthma Treatment • Autism Gene • Vaccine Safety • Vaccines and Autism • Coronary Predictor • Pre-term Babies • Stroke Brain Regrowth • Stroke Brain Fix • Heart Stem Cells • Heart and Mouth Disease • Sudden Killer • Cystic Fibrosis Mucus • Diabetes Nerve Drug • Stop That Gene • Huntington's Advance • Blindness Gene • Muscular Dystrophy Gene Therapy • Pope's Parkinson's • Parkinson's Tremors • Spine Injuries • Reeve Injury Gene • Paralysis Push • New Nerve Cells (80 minutes)

According to The American Journal of Medicine, over 70% of Americans have been infected with a genital human papillomavirus, yet few are aware that they have it-or even know what HPV is. This eye-opening program delivers the facts that high school and college students-the primary victims-need to raise their awareness about an incurable sexually transmitted disease. Doctors, professors, peer educators, and others provide concise information on topics including HPV's link to genital warts and cervical cancer, the vital importance of pap smears, treatments, and research being done to eliminate HPV once and for all. (24 minutes)

Killer bugs like the plague, cholera, and typhoid were all brought under control by adventuring self-experimenters. This program looks at medical trailblazers who took the ultimate risk and injected or ingested some of the most terrifying diseases known to humankind. Describing Louis Pasteur's flirtation with mortality-during which he asked his assistants to inject him with the rabies virus-the program also explores the gambles taken by two early-20th-century American doctors who injected themselves and their families with polio in a bitter race for a vaccine. Modern researchers who have infected themselves with hookworm in a novel bid to control allergies are also featured. A BBCW Production. (51 minutes)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics cites that nursing aides, attendants and orderlies have the highest risk of musculoskeletal disorder from on-the-job activities. Protect your staff with the NIOSH-approved techniques found in this new program. Your staff will learn step-by-step techniques on lifting and moving patient as well as inherent risks for improper procedures.

As a history of infection and contagion, this program tells a story of clever science and dumb luck, horror and hope. Filmed at locations worldwide, the video traces the battles fought against humanity's oldest foes: diseases such as yellow fever, malaria, syphilis, cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, polio, and perhaps the deadliest pandemic of all, AIDS. Health workers and epidemiologists on the front lines discuss the dynamics of combating disease, particularly in Africa, where AIDS ravages the continent. The growing problem of antibiotic resistance is also examined. Experts include Dr. David Ho, a virologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris who has developed some of the most effective HIV drugs. (51 minutes)

Illustrating connections between globalization and the spread of disease, this program uses data-mapping to assess the potential impact of deadly viruses-including the much-feared and adaptable avian influenza. Outbreaks of bird flu in the Netherlands and West Nile virus in New York City illustrate the increasing mobility of exotic pathogens in an era of frequent international travel and dynamic global migration. Presenting detailed information on virus tracking and the horrific effects that many epidemics have on livestock as well as on people, this video illuminates a new front line in the battle between humans and their microscopic enemies. (31 minutes)