Epidemic Threats Today: From Ticks to Vegetables

In this session, participants will learn to appreciate the epidemic threats of 2026—cyclospora and tick-related infections head the list in developed countries, whereas Ebola and Hantavirus have posed threats abroad. Meanwhile, the return of vaccine preventable diseases (measles, pertussis) continues to pose a significant threat globally. This talk will address the factors that drive these epidemics—socioeconomic, political, epidemiological, and biological. It will also explore why these epidemics persist despite attempts to control them.

Powel Kazanjian, M.D., Ph.D., is an infectious diseases doctor and medical historian. He has degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (B.A.), Harvard (M.A., History of Science), Tufts (M.D.), and at the University of Michigan (Ph.D., History), where he is an emeritus professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and an Emeritus Professor in the Department of History. Powel’s medical background and historical training have enabled a multidisciplinary approach to his teaching and scholarship. His courses on the “History of Epidemics,” “Sexually Transmitted Diseases,” and “Doctor in Society” provide a comprehensive lens to view the impact that epidemic diseases have had on societies throughout history.