Browse clinical stories, practical perspectives, and future-facing ideas across diagnostics, microbial ecology, AMR, HIV, and emerging therapeutics.
Four months! That's how long a 14-year-old boy and his family endured a medical mystery that nearly cost him his life. What started as seemingly routine symptoms - fever and…
Read article →In the ever-evolving landscape of infectious disease diagnostics, cases like that of the 14-year-old boy in my recent Linkedin newsletter - here , serve as a stark reminder of the…
Read article →Last week, I encountered a situation that made me pause and reflect on how laboratory availability directly impacts patient care—and not in a good way. I was covering for a…
Read article →Picture this: a microscopic battlefield where bacteria—the so-called superbugs—have been outmaneuvering our antibiotics at every turn. Just when it seems like they’ve won, an…
Read article →Last week, I ended with a question that still lingers: Why does healthcare have to be so complicated? We finally have Lenacapavir (Yeztugo)—a twice-a-year injectable HIV…
Read article →Welcome back to "Microbiome: An ID Doc's Perspective First, let me say thank you for the incredible response to our launch edition. The comments, messages, and conversations it…
Read article →I met a patient on her 8th admission for Clostridium difficile infection in 2 years. Yes, a real patient. Let's call her Helen. We did everything right. Vancomycin worked.…
Read article →A 58-year-old man admitted to the ICU with severe sepsis from pneumonia. Intubated on day 2. Broad-spectrum antibiotics started. Clinical improvement by day 5. Cultures negative.…
Read article →An introduction to Mystery Infection Files™, a case-based series exploring difficult infectious disease diagnoses and the lessons they reveal.
Read article →Picture this: there's an entire universe of tiny living things all around us right now. These microscopic organisms (also known as microbes) are like the behind-the-scenes crew of…
Read article →What if I told you that the future of healthcare isn't about treating everyone the same way, but treating YOU exactly as your unique body needs? The Big "What If" Questions -…
Read article →Imagine this: Your child scrapes their knee at the playground. A simple cut. No big deal, right? But what if I told you were racing against time to keep it that way? I had a…
Read article →There are moments in medicine you never forget. Like the day I realized that, one day soon, I might have to tell a young mother that we had run out of antibiotics to treat her…
Read article →Think about this: Every time you eat a fiber-rich meal or avoid unnecessary antibiotics, you're actually strengthening your body's natural antimicrobial defense system. I love…
Read article →Welcome to My Newsletter - 'Mystery Infection Files: Where Clinical Mysteries Meet Metagenomic Solutions' Step into the future of Infectious Diseases diagnostics through…
Read article →This week, I had every intention of writing about the Human Microbiome Project and exploring how we, as humans, may be more supra-organisms than individuals since our bacterial…
Read article →What if the key to understanding obesity, cancer, and immune diseases lies not just in our DNA, but in the trillions of microbes living inside us? While many of us may know about…
Read article →I had the privilege of being a guest of Tolulope Olabintan MD FAAFP dipABLM at Living Spring Family Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.…
Read article →Meet Ayo. He’s been married for two years to his high school sweetheart and has a six-month-old daughter. He’s 27, full of dreams, and working hard to build his future. Life…
Read article →In the late summer of 2016, a retired oil-field worker in Bakersfield, California, found himself facing a sudden and frightening illness. At 68 years old, he had already been…
Read article →Think about this—what if one of the most powerful tools we need to fight superbugs was discovered over 100 years ago, floating silently in water, invisible to the eye? Then…
Read article →I came across something fascinating recently that I just had to share with you. Have you heard about the research connecting microbes to Alzheimer's disease? It's completely…
Read article →It was meant to be the trip of a lifetime. A 68-year-old American man set out to explore the mysteries of Egypt — but in a twist no one expected, he would soon find himself facing…
Read article →It's becoming harder to ignore — the gut may hold the answers we've long been searching for when it comes to the pathogenesis of many illnesses. The deeper we dig, the more it…
Read article →Note: Dr. Elena Rivera is a fictional character created to personify the journey through DNA sequencing history. Her story is intended to represent the collective experiences of…
Read article →It's been intriguing learning about the evolution of DNA sequencing over the last few decades. So I thought, why not write about it through the eyes of Dr. Elena Rivera? Let's go…
Read article →Last week, someone in my network asked me: “How do I improve my gut bacteria? I need to lose weight and feel healthy.” That thoughtful question inspired this new series. Here's…
Read article →“How do I improve my gut bacteria? I need to lose weight and feel healthy.” This thoughtful question and comment by one of my readers inspired this series. Last week (part 1): We…
Read article →Welcome back to another edition of Mystery Infection Files, where we dive deep into the cases that keep infectious disease specialists awake at night. This month, I'm sharing yet…
Read article →"How do I improve my gut bacteria? I need to lose weight and feel healthy." This thoughtful question from one of my readers sparked this series, and it’s a really good one. We've…
Read article →This is Part 4 of our series on the microbiome. This week, I'll be sharing about the relationship between our microbiome and inflammation. New to the series? Catch up on: ➡️ Part…
Read article →As a doctor, I am trained to recognize inflammation ie redness, swelling, pain, dysfunction, and treat with medications, procedures and/or monitoring. We now know that the…
Read article →We usually think of infections as short-term problems, like fevers, coughs, maybe a stomach bug. But some infections don’t just go away. They linger. And when they do, they can…
Read article →It was supposed to be the perfect Italian getaway. A 61-year-old Australian man had spent three beautiful weeks exploring southern Italy. The kind of trip you save for, plan for…
Read article →Last week, I introduced you to the shocking reality that about 1 in 6 cancers are caused by infections. But here's what I didn't tell you: these are not your typical "get sick,…
Read article →Did you know that.. We are living through a moment that could fundamentally change how we think about HIV prevention. And honestly, not enough people are talking about it. What…
Read article →It started with a headache. A 59-year-old woman in rural China woke up one morning with the kind of pounding head pain that makes you want to crawl back under the covers. But this…
Read article →A thoughtful reader recently asked me how ongoing microbiome research might influence treatment approaches in the near future, particularly around patient care during challenging…
Read article →Remember when genetic testing cost $100,000 and took months to get results? Today, you can order a DNA test online for under $100 and have your ancestry mapped in weeks. I'm…
Read article →Hi there! I'm Dr. Tina, I have a confession: I used to think microbes were mostly the enemy. As an infectious disease doctor, my job has been pretty straightforward for years,…
Read article →One Faithful morning, It all started with what seemed like a simple chest cold. A 45-year-old construction worker felt the usual scratch in his throat, the annoying cough that…
Read article →He was an independent painter. You know the one who works with their hands and heart, takes pride in his craft, and pushes through discomfort to get the job done excellently? So…
Read article →When a toothache becomes a race against a silent killer It started with a toothache. A 53-year-old man. He was healthy, no underlying conditions, living a simple life. Then He…
Read article →When tuberculosis hides where traditional tests can't reach A Note from Dr. Agbaosi: This episode of Mystery Infection Files™️ is particularly meaningful to me because these three…
Read article →In the last edition, I asked: what if we stopped waiting for infections to occur and instead focused on maintaining the ecological barriers that prevent them? Some of you asked:…
Read article →She had won cancer once already! A 52-year-old woman with ovarian cancer, on olaparib for maintenance therapy. For five months, this targeted PARP inhibitor drug had kept her…
Read article →She was only 9.5 months old. A sweet age, when babies should be learning to crawl, babbling their first words, exploring the world with wide-eyed wonder. Instead, this little girl…
Read article →He loved his German shepherd. For years, the loyal dog had been part of the family. A companion, a protector, a source of unconditional affection. So when the 60-year-old man got…
Read article →A 72-year-old man with osteoarthritis finally decided to get his left knee replaced. The surgery went perfectly. Uncomplicated. Textbook. He went home to recover, looking forward…
Read article →Full disclosure: My institution isn't doing all of this yet. Most aren't. That's the problem. We're still practicing reactive infection treatment when a good body of evidence…
Read article →When five years of darkness comes down to one test. A Note from me: This edition of Mystery Infection Files is profoundly personal because the patient at the center of this story…
Read article →A 53-year-old man returned from travel across Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. One week later, a relentless fever began, setting off a difficult diagnostic search…
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