Outbreaks
From About.com
Outbreaks of infectious diseases occur throughout the world. Find out where these are occurring and how to protect yourself.
- Is Ebola a Potential Bioterrorism Agent?
- What Is Marburg Disease?
- Can I Catch Bird Flu?
- Dengue Fever and Travel to Asia and Latin America
Is Ebola a Potential Bioterrorism Agent?
Ebola is a disease caused by a virus that causes hemorrhagic fever, but contrary to popular belief, fewer than half the people who get hemorrhagic fever suffer from internal bleeding. The virus, however, is deadly; some strains rapidly kill 50 to 90 percent of all those infected. And worse yet, the Ebola virus is highly transmissible from person to person.
What Is Marburg Disease?
Marburg disease was first described in 1967 when researchers handling Ugandan monkeys at a lab in Marburg, Germany, caught the disease. Since then, 450 people have fallen ill with the Marburg virus and 80 percent of them have died from the disease.
Can I Catch Bird Flu?
Bird flu has killed hundreds of people since 2003, but it is still a rare disease. The H5N1 bird flu virus has mostly affected people who are in close contact with birds that were ill or that died from the H5N1 bird flu virus.
Dengue Fever and Travel to Asia and Latin America
Unlike malaria, that mostly plagues rural areas, dengue strikes in the city. Classic dengue fever is a serious disease that has no vaccine and no treatment, but is not usually fatal. Hemorrhagic complications of dengue fever can be deadly.
- Dengue Fever
- What Are Hemorrhagic Fevers?
- Before You Buy a Mosquito Net
- What Kind of Mosquito Repellent to Buy?