In May this year, new cases of the rare infection-Monkey Pox - typically limited to Africa, began spreading within Europe and North America.

More than 780 cases have now been reported across 15 countries with Australia recently reporting 8 cases.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease, a member of the same family of viruses as smallpox and typically is spread through close physical contact with skin lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials such as bedding and is much less infectious than respiratory illnesses such as Covid 19. Transmission of Monkey pox virus by respiratory droplets would normally require prolonged face-to-face contact, so the apparent rapid spread of the virus may signal a shift in its behaviour and some scientists have questioned if the virus may have mutated to become more transmissible. Two strains have been identified.

PCOS is the most common endocrinopathy of reproductive age women affecting about 1 in 10. Characteristically the condition presents with menstrual irregularity, excess androgens, and polycystic ovarian morphology. More common in women with a family history and type 2 diabetes the condition is associated with obesity, infertility, pregnancy complications and metabolic derangements as well as a number of psychological consequences.

In this podcast we have a conversation with obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Mei Cheah founder of Create Health a leading group of specialists in women's health creating visions for a healthy future, better well-being, and more informed patients. Create Health aims to deliver exceptional care across obstetrics, gynaecology, reproductive endocrinology, minimally invasive surgery, fertility and IVF plus allied and complimentary health services. We look forward to exploring the practical aspects of this diagnosis further with you.

The Peter Doherty Institute was the first Australian laboratory to establish a Covid 19 PCR test and diagnose the first SARS- Cov 2 infection on Australian shores, its research scientist is heavily involved in developing novel diagnostic tools applied across many areas of medical science and the institute plays a key leadership role in advising state and federal government on best medical practice. It’s no great surprise therefore that we have learned of their ground-breaking development of a new subunit Covid 19 vaccine utilising the receptor binding domain at the tip of the virus’s spike proteins. This is the region responsible for virus attachment and infection and for eliciting over 90% of neutralising antibodies following SARS Cov-2 infection. Parallel with the subunit vaccine development, another Melbourne group – the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences has developed a similar vaccine but using mRNA technology copying the virus’s genetic sequence that codes for the receptor binding domain.

The ketogenic diet has recently become popular as an effective dietary approach to weight loss. The diet restricts carbohydrates to just 5-10% of total calories and relies on caloric intake from fats (55-60%) and proteins (30-35%) forcing metabolism to shift from gluconeogenesis to ketogenesis with the production of acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetone – ketone bodies – as the usable energy source. People adopting this diet report a significant reduction in hunger, increase in energy, clarity of thought and reduction in chronic inflammatory conditions. Some are concerned the diet is difficult to maintain long term and may be risky in patients that are diabetic and in those with chronic kidney disease.