In The News

Ebola’s Escape From Africa Unlikely Though Not Impossible

Simeon Bennett and Marie French July 30, 2014
The Ebola outbreak in Africa is terrifying: Flu-like symptoms appear two days to three weeks after infection; about half of the people who contract the disease die, though early treatment could reduce the fatality rate. There is no cure, and Ebola is spread by direct contact with infected person’s bodily fluids: “While an infected person who sneezes or coughs directly in another person’s face...

MERS Outbreak Could Spread With Annual Pilgrimage: Officials

Maggie Fox June 23, 2014
Outbreaks of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, may not be a global emergency, but the annual mass pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, known as the Hajj could allow the virus to spread. The syndrome first appeared in 2012. The disease has since caused 500 fatalities and spread to 16 nations. Research from the World Health Organization suggests that camels are carriers, with no evidence of human-...

Polio’s Return After Near Eradication Prompts a Global Health Warning

Donald G. McNeil Jr. May 7, 2014
The spread of polio in Pakistan, Syria, Cameroon, Afghanistan, Iraq and Equatorial Guinea has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency and impose travel restrictions on the first three countries. “Just two years ago – after a 25-year campaign that vaccinated billions of children – the paralyzing virus was near eradication; now health officials say that goal...

Antibiotic Resistance Threatens Everyone, WHO Warns

May 5, 2014
Bacteria adapt quickly and resist antibiotic treatments for common diseases like urinary tract and skin infections, pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria and MRSA. The resistance is a global phenomenon, but the resistant diseases vary from nation to nation. “Some countries have been aggressive in terms of surveillance for antibiotic resistance, which the WHO says is important for early detection of...

Ebola Virus Continues to Rage in West Africa

April 14, 2014
Ebola is a highly contagious virus without a preventive vaccine or cure. The disease emerged in Guinea in February, then spread to Liberia, with 200 cases in this first outbreak reported for West Africa. “So far, Ebola outbreaks have only been recorded in Central Africa, such as in Sudan, Congo or Uganda,” reports Deutsche Welle. “According to the World Health Organization, there have been 15...

Polio Outbreak in Northeast Syria Risks Spreading, WHO Says

Stephanie Nebehay October 30, 2013
The World Health Organization reports a polio outbreak among young children in northeast Syria. The disease “is endemic in just three countries – Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan – raising the possibility that foreign fighters have imported the virus into Syria, where Islamist militant groups are part of the splintered array battling Assad's forces,” reports Stephanie Nebehay for Reuters....

Africa and Pakistan Face Polio Outbreaks

Donald G. McNeil, Jr. September 4, 2013
New polio cases are emerging in some of the world’s most unstable places – North Waziristan, Somalia and a Kenya refugee camp. The world had about 350,000 cases in 1988 and 223 cases in 2012, a 99 percent decrease, but polio can spread quickly, especially among children under the age of five, reports the World Health Organization. Poverty and rumors add to the challenges of health care workers....