Emerging Worlds: Chronic Illness and Viral Infections











   
Interview with Neenyah Ostrom - Reporter, Author of books on science, medicine and bioethics
 Hosted by Jennifer Walton and David Riordan

Bio:
Neenyah Ostrom is the author of three books about science, medicine, and bioethics, and was the ghostwriter for five other vol

 

 

Photo credit: Arne Svenson

 

Neenyah Ostrom is the author of three books about science, medicine, and bioethics, and was the ghostwriter for five other volumes.  Ostrom’s 50 Things You Should Know About the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Epidemic (St. Martin’s Press, 1993) has remained in print for eight years.  50 Things was published in a Japanese language edition in 1992 (Shin­dan-to-Chiryo, Tokyo) and in French (Les Editions Logiques, Montreal, Quebec) in 1994.  Two earlier books are now out of print.  Five books ghostwritten for Kensington Publishing/Zebra Books cover a diversity of subjects: breast cancer, chronic pain, ophthalmology, the brain, and heart disease.  The breast cancer book ghostwritten by Ostrom was chosen as one of the most distinguished books of 1998 by Publishers Weekly.

 

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Q1. How did you get interested in writing books about science and medicine?


Q2. Based on your research, how do feel about the safety of vaccines?


Q3. How do we reform our viewpoints on vaccine usage?


Q4. Is there a relationship between increased vaccine use and serious childhood disease?


Q5. Are serious diseases being passed on in vaccines?


Q6. Will the recent mapping of the genome lead to safer vaccines?


Q7. What is the medical establishment's current view of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?


Q8. Does the lack of concern by the medical establishment have to do with the chronic nature of the condition?


Q9. Are there cases where pregnant women passed CFS on to their babies?


Q10. How would you like the CDC to respond to CFS?


Q11. Is chronic fatigue still seen as mostly a women's issue?


Q12. Do medical professional's concerns for their careers play a part in the lack of support for Chronic Disease research?


Q13. What is your current view of AIDS?


Q14. What are the dangers for pregnant women who test HIV positive in taking AZT?


Q15. Is the testing done for HIV accurate enough?


Q16. Can you talk about your interest in medical ethics?


Q17. How do you stay hopeful when you hear all the bad news?


Q18. Tell us about your work with the Chronic Illness Foundation?


Q19. Are we more at risk of chronic disease that we were thirty years ago?