Millions of people visit airports every day. With so many people in one confined space, you have to expect some exchange of germs.
But, which area in an airport contains the most germs?
According to a new study from experts in the United Kingdom and Finland, not only can you catch a virus from airport security bins, they may actually be the biggest germ hotspots in airports.
Deadly cholera outbreaks have recently been plaguing many African countries, particularly those in the eastern and southern Africa region (ESAR).
With almost 25,000 cases and more than 350 deaths, questions about the overall impact of the illness remain.
How did these outbreaks happen? How likely are they to spread throughout the rest of the continent? Are other regions in danger of a cholera outbreak?
In recent years, we’ve seen the extreme dangers of foodborne illnesses. Cholera, typhoid and hepatitis A outbreaks can create epidemics that span whole countries and prove hard to stop.
An illness like listeria is no different.
The disease comes from processed meats that have gone bad, such as hot dogs, deli meats, canned smoked seafood. A person who even incorrectly refrigerates produce items can contract listeria. We’ve already seen the serious effects of listeria this year alone, with an outbreak in South Africa.
We change the flu vaccine every year, but what if we didn’t have to?
That would require the long-rumored universal flu vaccine. While it would prove groundbreaking, that kind of vaccine has been considered out of reach. But, according to research from the University of Pennsylvania, a universal flu shot could be ready for clinical trials within two years.
As we covered in the spring, exciting new developments are underway for the flu vaccine. With this new information, the vaccine may be closer than we thought.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing problem for patients with diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, malaria and typhoid. Those illnesses are proving much harder to treat with current antibiotics. Researchers believe AMR could cause 10 million deaths every year worldwide starting in 2050.
While AMR also applies to antimalarials and antivirals, antibiotics are often the main subject.
Antibiotics changed healthcare dramatically after the discovery of penicillin in 1928. Since that development, various bacteria have slowly developed a resistance to the drugs. As this continues, common infections and injuries could be deadly once again.
During the summer, you probably only use bug spray when away from the city. Maybe it’s during a hike in the country or a day by the lake, but mosquitoes don’t bite in the city, right?
Not only do the insects bite in urban areas, but they’re also carrying diseases.
A recent study has shown that Japanese encephalitis, usually thought to be a rural problem, can spread quickly in cities as well.
Mycoplasma genitalium (Mgen or MG) is a relatively new sexually transmitted disease but it’s already a bigger problem than you might think. The disease could already be present in one in every 100 adults and it may very well become a superbug due to its antimicrobial resistance.
Even if you haven’t heard of it, the STI is surprisingly common. Mgen infects roughly one to two percent of people in the United States and in Australia, as well as one percent of people in the United Kingdom.
As Lifehacker AU notes, countless people know of gonorrhea and not Mgen, yet Mgen infects more than twice as many people as gonorrhea.
Measles has long been considered one of the worst childhood illnesses around the world. The disease even has a symptom that’s easily recognized in the form of a red itchy rash.
To this day, measles is extremely contagious, spreading from person-to-person like wildfire. The highly-contagious nature has even helped the measles outbreaks that have increased in recent years.
But, with so much recent news about measles, what is the disease’s history? And specifically, where did the measles vaccine come from?
MERS made headlines recently as health officials in England reported the first diagnosis of the illness in the country in five years.
While Public Health England says that the risk of infection for the general public is quite low, a search is on for passengers who sat near the MERS patient on a flight to Britain from the Middle East.
This news has many questioning what the illness is and how it’s spread.
A West Nile virus outbreak in Europe continues to take lives, bringing the current death toll to over 50 people. A report published Wednesday in Deutsche Welle details the increasing dangers in countries like Serbia and Greece.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control shares that the West Nile fever situation has caused at least 410 human cases and 54 deaths in various locations in and around Europe.
Serbia has been hit the hardest by the virus. Officials tallied 21 deaths and 213 confirmed infections so far, most of which have been in the capital city of Belgrade.
