If you’re looking for information about the flu, viruses, and contagious diseases, you’ll find it here. Learn about the different types and subtypes of influenza and other infectious diseases, how they’re contracted, how they spread, how they’re treated, and how you can avoid them in the first place.
Now that the US has its first official confirmed case of Ebola within its borders, people are naturally starting to show more concern about how the virus works and whether they could contract it. While the Mayo Clinic cautions visitors to their site that the chances of contracting Ebola are rare, it’s still wise to...
On March 25, 2014, the World Health Organization reported 86 cases of Ebola and 59 deaths in Guinea. Over the spring and summer months, the number of cases in Africa swelled to a staggering 3,069 cases and 1,552 deaths by August 28. This makes the 2014 Ebola outbreak the largest and deadliest since the discovery...
As the death toll of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Africa continues to grow and the first case was reported in Dallas, Texas, people are naturally looking to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for guidance. In addition to the CDC’s efforts to help contain the spread of this deadly virus in Africa, it...
The Ebola virus is the cause of an acute illness that attacks multiple organ systems and can be fatal if left untreated. Ebola in humans (called Ebola virus disease) is actually a recent virus, with the first known outbreak occurring in Africa in 1976. The current West African outbreak of 2014 is the largest and...
A Liberian man has become the first person to be diagnosed with the deadly Ebola virus on U.S. soil, marking a significant development in the 2014 Ebola outbreak, which until this point had been contained to several countries in West Africa. Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan tested positive for Ebola in Dallas, Texas, on September...
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe disease that is often fatal in humans. In fact, the average fatality rate is around 50 percent, a statistics that underscores the severity of the illness and the reason why the 2014 outbreak has become such a major cause for concern. While...
To date, over 3,000 people have died from the 2014 Ebola outbreak, centered in West Africa, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international health emergency. Ebola is a deadly virus for which there is currently no proven cure, with an average fatality rate of around 50 percent if the person is treated....
Ebola virus disease (formally known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever) is a severe, often fatal illness that can be transmitted to people from wild animals and also spreads in the human population through human to human transmission. Fruit bats in the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus. However, in...
Important Note: This information does not refer to the 2009/2010H1N1 virus widely circulating in human populations, originally and erroneously referred to as swine flu. The 2009/2010 H1N1 is a completely different virus. Swine flu viruses, like all other influenza viruses are constantly changing. Pigs are also infected with other types of viruses from birds and...
The World Health Organization (WHO) has set various levels for alerting the public of possible pandemic, including pandemic level 5. Here is an explanation of the various levels, especially in terms of viruses that can begin in animals, as recent viral infections have. What is Pandemic Level 5? There are 6 phases of pandemics: Pandemic...