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Category: Religion & Rituals
Microbial Misadventures: Anthrax, Hippies & Drum Circles
Everyone has their own collecting quirk. I myself collect animal skulls, inconveniently large earrings and unusual stories of infectious disease cases and outbreaks. To each their own, yes? I’ve decided that, instead of stockpiling these stories away in some recess of my brain, I’ll be sharing them online in a new recurring series on Body Horrors called Microbial Misadventures.
A gram stain of cerebrospinal fluid showing the characteristics rods of B. anthracis. Source: JA Jernigan et al. (2001) Bioterrorism-Related Inhalational Anthrax: The First 10 Cases Reported in the United States. EID. 7(6): 933-44.
Click image for source.
Mardi Gras at the Leprosarium
Fat Tuesday is only a few days away and the residents of New Orleans are convulsing with anticipatory excitement and glee at the weekend parades, balls and crawfish boils leading to the grand finale. Mardi Gras is one of the finest celebrations in the world and what makes it particularly unique is the egalitarian nature that lies at its very heart – everyone is welcome to come witness and participate in Carnival. And for those very few who are not, Mardi Gras comes to them.
Oy Vey!: Pig Tapeworm in the Orthodox Jewish Community
A few months back, Carl Zimmer published a short article on the startling widespread prevalence of neurocysticercosis; the larval infective form of the pig tapeworm Taenia solium that just so happens to infect the human brain. Check it out, but beware!, you will be learning about a parasite that gives unwelcome deep tissue massages in your gray matter and you will see photographic evidence of it.
Ophthalmology of the Pharaohs: Antimicrobial Kohl Eyeliner in Ancient Egypt
The bold eye makeup in the ‘60s, best exemplified by Sophia Loren’s winged ‘cat eye’ liner and Twiggy’s spidery eyelashes, had nothing on the ancient Egyptians and their gods. Their eyelids were heavily smeared with black kohl eyeliner, thick lines rimming the eyes, and the fashion was sported by everyone from peasants to pharaohs to effigies of the worshiped gods Horus and Ra. Though it may seem nothing more than a cosmetic fancy nowadays, kohl was considered to have potent magical powers and it has since turned out to possess unique pharmaceutical and antimicrobial properties. In fact, this deceptively simple beauty product may actually be one of the most ancient ophthalmological preparations known to man.
Buzz Kill: Blood-Borne Disease Transmission at the Hajj
With Hanukkah and Christmas just recently past and Chinese New Year fast approaching, it seems a suitable time to consider the topic of religious celebrations and infectious diseases, no? ‘Tis the spirit and all! I’ll be looking at one of most intriguing religious events in the world, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca known as the Hajj, and the special epidemiological event that accompanies it.
A Muslim praying at the Hajj with a backdop of thousands of pilgrims. Image: Hassan Ammar. Click for source.
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Open Lab 2012
