Newswise — June is National Safety Month. Tulane University experts are available to speak on a variety of topics related to safety and summer.

Summer Big Safety: Dawn Wesson, a professor of Tropical Medicine at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, is an expert in vector-borne infectious diseases, which are diseases transmitted by another species. For example, humans may contract West Nile virus or malaria from mosquitoes and Lyme disease from ticks, and Chagas disease by "kissing bugs." To prevent problems, Wesson advises long sleeves, long pants and insect repellants with active ingredients approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, such as DEET, picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus. At the community level, Wesson encourages people who see old tires, abandoned swimming pools and construction debris -- places where water might collect so mosquitoes can breed " to contact their local pest control boards.

Traveler's Health: Infectious disease specialist Susan McLellan conducts a travel medicine clinic at Tulane University. McLellan provides preventive health tips for people traveling internationally, including health considerations. She can recommend vaccines and preventive remedies for diseases that are common in the developing world, such as yellow fever and malaria.

Highway Safety: Tulane University instructor Ronald Jones can discuss public safety initiatives regarding highway travel and can provide statistics on dangers such as DWI and underage drinking. In addition, Jones is an expert in police administration -- from law enforcement ethics and standards, policies and procedures, to use of force and the occasional vehicle pursuit.

National HIV Testing Day is June 27. Researchers at Tulane University are testing a potential breakthrough in the prevention of HIV that affects women. Vaginal microbicides could prevent HIV as well as prevent or limit a wider systemic HIV infection in women. Ronald Veazey, a researcher at the Tulane National Primate Research Center, is testing potential microbicides called fusion inhibitors that block access to a major receptor HIV uses to infect cells. Public health experts predict that if 20 percent of women in the developing world used a microbicide in half of their sexual encounters, 2.5 million HIV infections could be prevented over a three-year period.