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“While the world’s focus has been on COVID-19, sometimes it seems like nothing else is happening in infectious diseases. But that is far from the reality.

In recent years, we’ve seen Nigeria report large numbers of Lassa fever, we continue to see plague outbreaks from Africa to Asia and monkeypox cases have risen in recent decades.

Joining me to talk about these other outbreaks is Stephen A. Berger, M.D.   Dr. Berger is the co-founder of GIDEON Informatics (Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network).”

“Most viruses that cause human disease are named for the disease itself,” said Stephen Berger, a founder, and medical adviser at the Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network, in an email. “The virus that causes measles is called ‘Measles virus’ and the virus of influenza is called ‘Influenza virus.’ ”

Dr. Stephen Berger, double board-certified in infectious disease and microbiology and the founder of GIDEON, the Global Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Network, explains to Eat This, Not That! Health that he and his team have been working with a “Computer Expert [Decision Analysis] System” designed to generate a list of diseases based on signs and symptoms. The list is ranked according to statistical probability.

With the help of decision support tools, clinicians can differentiate between vector-borne diseases during a season where more people are at risk. A decision support system uses two or more items of patient data to generate case-specific advice. In practical terms, the output of such systems is used to arrive at a specific diagnosis. Although none of these systems can “make” a diagnosis, they are capable of generating a list of diseases that are compatible with a patient’s epidemiological background, signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings.

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Stephen A. Berger is co-founder and medical director of GIDEON, the Global Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Online Network.

For example, if a group of American adults is experiencing severe illness, cough and fever, the most likely diagnosis is COVID-19. In this scenario, an infectious disease database platform ranks COVID-19 “number 1,” with a statistical likelihood of 87%. However, the program also lists an additional 76 infectious diseases. (Influenza is the second most likely diagnosis, with a probability of 8%.)

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Stephen A. Berger, MD, is co-founder and medical director of GIDEON, the Global Infectious Disease and Epidemiology Online Network.

… if you want to make your voice heard at a protest, know that there are ways to lower your risk of catching—or spreading—COVID-19
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“Assume that the stranger standing next to you is spreading the virus,” adds Stephen Berger, M.D., infectious disease expert and founder of the Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network (GIDEON).

Think long and hard before deciding to meet up with friends or family. Your own health is a priority, and you want to be considerate of others, too.

Contracting COVID-19 is a lot about the company you keep, explains Stephen Berger, MD, infectious disease expert, and co-founder of GIDEON (Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network). But the places you go can make a difference, too.

“Infectious material enters our body through our mouth or nose — either because you were within a few feet of a human carrier, or because something brought this material to the area of our face,” Dr. Berger says.

Science publications about COVID-19
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“The volume is so great that what’s being published on COVID is equal to all the other research that is usually being put on infectious disease as a whole,” says Uri Blackman, CEO of GIDEON Informatics, which has put out medical databases since 1992.

“Lavatories are, unfortunately, ideal for the transmission of COVID-19. They are closed and poorly ventilated,” says Stephen Berger, M.D., an infectious disease expert and co-founder of GIDEON, the Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network.

“Urinals and sinks are crowded together, and partitions rarely extend upward to shield someone’s face. Although toilet stalls are isolated, droplets and aerosols will continue to linger there, several minutes after the last user has left,” he says.

“According to the Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Online Network (GIDEON), as of 19 April, there are 24 countries/territories that have not reported any cases of COVID-19. These are mostly small Pacific Island Nations, however also includes two countries in Europe – Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.”

“During the recent wave of protest gatherings, we’ve witnessed total abandonment of social distancing,” said Stephen Berger, an infectious disease expert, and co-founder of the Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Network (GIDEON).

“The center of a large crowd is no different than a sealed-off, unventilated room filled with potentially infected individuals – many holding large signs which will block the flow of clean air,” Berger told Yahoo Finance.