Summary: In an escalating war between humans and microbes, catastrophic disease may have the edge. This program studies the ubiquitous threat posed by super viruses and describes scientific efforts to prepare for viral disease epidemics. Documenting the World Health Organization's response to the 2005 Angolan Marburg virus outbreak, the program examines strengths and weaknesses in the WHO...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program offers an excellent worldview of AIDS, providing background on the disease's history, its transmission and symptoms, innovative awareness campaigns, and the ongoing search by scientists from around the globe to find an effective long-term treatment. Fred Valentine, director of the Center for AIDS Research at the New York University School of Medicine; Lawrence Altman, medical...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: From San Francisco, the epicenter of the AIDS explosion, to the Bronx, notorious for its injected drug abuse, this program examines how AIDS took hold in the U.S. during the early 1980s and the advances being made toward a cure. Noted journalist David Perlman, of the San Francisco Chronicle; pioneering epidemiologist Dr. Selma Dritz; Dr. Robert Gallo, co-discoverer of the retrovirus HIV1; Dr....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: One day, microbes will eliminate our dirt and garbage, filter our exhaust systems, and help make self-cleaning clothing possible. This program takes viewers on a global journey-from the U.S. to Iceland, Sweden, India, China, Senegal, and Australia-to meet the world's leading specialists in bacteriology and discover the incredible abilities of the microscopic life-forms they study. Employing...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Swimming, bathing, washing clothes, and fishing-these are everyday activities that put people in the developing world at risk of catching bilharzia (or schistosomiasis), if the water is infected with eggs of the schistosome worm. Left untreated, the disease can eventually block internal organs such as the liver and intestine, often leading to death. Children are especially at risk, with even a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: A major problem in the spread of chlamydia in the developing world is that people rarely have the time to see a doctor, let alone attend a follow-up appointment. In the Philippines a journey to a clinic can take a whole day, and the diagnostic test takes five to six hours. However, the development of a much more rapid screener-a test strip utilizing nanogold technology-has taken place in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: When antibiotics first came on the scene, deaths from pneumonia plunged. But the microbes that cause the lung infection are resilient and continue to evolve, creating new strains that don't respond to conventional drugs. This program tours a high-tech medical lab where super-bacteria are identified, illuminates ongoing research into fighting drug-resistant MRSA, and explains why serious...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: In May of 1995, a NOVA film crew traveled to Kikwit, Zaire. The only team permitted into the 'hot zone,' they went to that remote region to document an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. For four weeks, the crew documented the horrific battle against one of the world’s most lethal diseases, which killed 77% of its victims here. This NOVA episode follows disease specialists as they trace the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 1996
View online at AVOD
Summary: In an increasingly global society, disease outbreaks are on the rise-and so is the need for epidemiology expertise. This program introduces students to vital information regarding the transmission, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, vectors, prevention, and control of several communicable diseases. Students receive vital information on zoonotic diseases such as SARS, Rift Valley fever,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The prescription of antibiotics is a medical tightrope-walk. The drugs save lives, but, because of overuse, may soon usher in a new era of super-germs. This program outlines the discoveries of bacteria and penicillin and sheds light on the frightening emergence of multi-resistant, often deadly microbes during the last six decades. Presenting interviews with researchers who are deeply involved...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: The shock and stigma that often follow a genital herpes diagnosis are difficult to overcome. This program deals with the physical side of the disease-explaining how it is contracted, how it manifests itself, and how it can be treated-as well as its social and emotional impact. Interviews with distinguished medical professionals shed light on specific developments in the fight against genital...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Lurking in stagnant pools and muddy watering holes, the guinea worm easily gets into the food chain-and, because it is frighteningly invulnerable to stomach acids and the human immune system, it is next to impossible to remove from the body. But now, scientists are on the verge of eradicating the parasite, humanity's oldest and largest nematode enemy. This program journeys to Sudan, the country...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: A disturbing irony of institutional medicine is that hospitals and other health care facilities are hotbeds of microbial infection. This program demonstrates measures that help protect patients and reduce the spread of harmful germs. Showing how and why long-term care residents are highly susceptible to infection, the video lays out clear objectives and strategies designed to cut down, if not...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2003
View online at AVOD
Summary: Kala-azar, the common name for visceral leishmaniasis, is characterized by irregular bouts of fever, substantial weight loss, swelling of the spleen and liver, and anemia. If left untreated it is almost certainly fatal. This program was filmed in the Indian state of Bihar, where 90 percent of the country's kala-azar cases are located. Forty per cent of these cases are now resistant to the drugs...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
View online at AVOD
Summary: After nearly disappearing from much of the world, the measles virus is on the rise. This program journeys to Tajikistan, where the collapse of the health care system established under Soviet rule led to a hiatus in disease vaccination. With measles now threatening children across the country, the Tajik government has launched a new vaccination campaign in partnership with UNICEF. The video...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This engaging program delves into the microscopic milieu that overlays life as human beings know it, illustrating the complex relationship between the microscopic and macroscopic worlds as the human host, with its billions of microbial allies and antagonists, journeys from the birth canal to the decomposition that follows death. Spectacular 3-D computer animation, case study footage, and expert...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Did the HIV1 virus originate with an endangered subspecies of chimpanzees in sub-Saharan Africa? In this program, ABC News correspondent John Donvan sums up the chain of events leading to that remarkable hypothesis. Then, anchor Forrest Sawyer; Dr. Anthony Fauci, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer for Newsday; and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: WHO Issues a Global Outbreak Alert "Emergency Travel Advisory" "SARS Spreads Worldwide" When SARS first hit the headlines, it was poised to become a major pandemic. This program shows how vigilant medical professionals save countless lives by tracking and identifying emerging mystery viruses-and stopping them cold with shared knowledge and cutting-edge technology deployed on a global scale....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Flying home from Hawaii, where he has met with a group of Chinese business contacts, salesman Michael Peterson begins to feel ill. This program presents the frightening consequences of his journey, which has transformed him into America's Patient Zero-an unwitting carrier of the deadly, Asian-born H5N1 virus. Peterson soon infects his own son, other inhabitants of his California suburb, and,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: No one enjoys getting a flu shot, but most people realize they need to. Vaccination, however, is not only vital for the individual but also for the well-being of friends, coworkers, and loved ones. This program corrects myths and misconceptions concerning influenza vaccines and explains who is most at risk for flu-related complications. Viewers learn about disease progression, courses of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program from NOVA recounts the story of Mary Mallon, better known throughout history as Typhoid Mary, the most dangerous woman in America. In 1907, Mary was identified as the first healthy person in North America to be a carrier of typhoid fever. Health officials in New York banished her to an island in the East River, thereby protecting the masses while violating individual liberties. The...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
View online at AVOD
Summary: Around the world, hospitals have become known for something other than healing-in fact, quite the opposite. This program follows the challenges faced by various hospitals, many of them state-of-the-art facilities, that have become hosts to nearly invincible germs. Focusing on the bacteria known as MRSA, the video goes inside French, German, and Dutch hospitals battling the sinister and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Rabies, Lyme disease, West Nile virus-all are examples of zoonosis, an infection that can be transmitted to humans from animals. In this program, several experts discuss major zoonotic diseases of concern, as well as outline safety tips for both people and pets. Dr. Wendy Walker, president of the Maryland Veterinary Medical Association; Joe Conlon, medical entomologist with the American...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: What is it like to live with a life-threatening illness? Can fear, anger, and joy be translated into movement? In this program, journalist Bill Moyers and filmmaker David Grubin give viewers a rare glimpse into dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones's highly acclaimed dance, "Still/Here. At workshops around the country, people facing life-threatening illnesses are asked to remember the highs and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006