In this episode I am joined by Dr Ravi Mehta discussing the hugely relevant and topical issues of what is a virus exploring the Zika and covid 19 viruses. We also got a good understanding into vaccines, the use of antibiotics and how this is causing a very real problem of anti microbial resistance. Ravi is a hospital doctor specialising in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine. During medical school, he undertook a period of training in Tanzania, where he started developing a passion for tropical medicine and global health. In 2015, he served a majority Maori population as a hospital doctor in South Auckland, New Zealand, and in 2016 moved to Brazil to lead research into the neurological complications of Zika virus, during the time of the epidemic. He has since continued his training as a doctor, rotating through hospitals in central London; and during the pandemic surge he redeployed to the Intensive Care Unit to look after critically unwell patients with COVID-19. He is passionate about medical education and is involved in training and examining medical students and junior doctors. He is currently in a research role at Imperial College, where he is using the latest tools in genetics and chemistry to discover new ways of diagnosing infectious diseases. His overall aim is to enhance clinical outcomes for patients with infections and reduce the burden of antimicrobial resistance globally. Outside of medicine, he is passionate about space, languages, rock climbing and mountaineering.
