Brian Labus

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Assistant Professor, School of Public Health

Master's of Public Health Internship Program Coordinator

Expertise: Infectious Disease, Disease Surveillance, Outbreak Investigation, COVID-19

Biography

Brian Labus is an expert on communicable disease surveillance, disease epidemiology, outbreak investigation, and the use of social media to detect and investigate health problems in the community.

Labus is an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics within UNLV's School of Public Health. Prior to joining UNLV, he spent 15 years as a senior investigator for the Southern Nevada Health District conducting outbreak investigations and disease surveillance, and implementing public health informatics systems. Has was the lead public health investigator for the largest outbreak of healthcare-acquired Hepatitis C in U.S. history.

In March 2020, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak selected Labus to serve on a five-member statewide task force to help advise on the scientific aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

His research and expertise have been featured in numerous news outlets such as the New York Times, CNN, LA Times, NPR, and more. His work has also been featured in academic and professional publications including the Twenty-Eighth Annual Conference on Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence, Nevada Journal of Public Health, Epidemiology and Infection, Clinical Infectious Diseases, and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Education

Ph.D. in Public Health, UNLV
M.P.H. in Infectious Diseases, University of California-Berkeley
B.S. in Biology, Purdue University

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Brian Labus In The News

CDC Reports Deadly Amoeba Infection Due to Nasal Rinsing With Untreated Tap Water

Healthline

A new study published by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) this week has found that using tap water to perform a nasal rinse increases the risk of contracting a rare but serious set of infections. In particular, the CDC reports that a type of amoeba known as acanthamoeba, can cause a range of symptoms and has a fatality rate of 82%. This infection is rare and is thought to only involve 3-12 people in the US each year.

Public health in Las Vegas: A look at the knowns and unknowns in 2024

Years ago, you’d hear “public health,” and more than likely, you’d shrug. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. No one ignores it now. And the virus remains, people are still getting sick from it and experiencing long-term effects. But what’s its lethality today, has it weakened? Should we keep getting vaccinations?

8 Things to Know About Long Covid

Understanding long Covid remains tricky for doctors. There’s no standard clinical definition for the condition or test to diagnose it. It can even go by different names, like post-Covid conditions, long-haul Covid, post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV-2 infection (PASC), or chronic Covid.

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