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.
Ebola is a severe disease that is caused by a virus and is characterized by pain, fever, diarrhea, and vomiting. The virus is native to Africa and is believed to have developed first in animals before spreading to humans. The five strains of Ebola are named after the locations where they were first observed, though...
There are a number of ways in which you can protect your family from influenza. Many of them are quite simple to follow and can significantly reduce your risk of contracting seasonal flu or swine flu. Practice Hand Hygiene Wash your hands frequently in soap and hot water. Carry hand sanitizer with you at all...
Filovirus is the name given to two related viruses that cause severe fevers accompanied by hemorrhaging. These two viruses are known as Marburg and Ebola. Both of these viruses have a high fatality rate – more than 50 percent in some outbreaks but normally between ten and 15 percent – and no known cure. Both...
Sinus pain and pressure may be caused by the common cold, allergies, environmental irritants, or by a bacterial infection. While sinus pain is always uncomfortable and can lead a person to miss work or school, treatment with antibiotics is effective only against bacterial sinusitis. This is because colds are caused by viruses and allergies are...
When flu reaches the pandemic level, it’s hard to avoid, and that’s the case with the Swine Flu pandemic that broke out in April, 2009. One way to improve your chances of avoiding H1N1 is to understand how the virus is spread and then practice swine flu prevention. Scientists studying this latest outbreak of Swine...
Treating the symptoms of Flu Congestion If you are suffering from congestion you will be experiencing blockages and pain in your nose and you may also be finding it difficult to breathe at all through your nose. Pressure may also build up around your sinuses. If this is the case you may benefit form a...
For many people, sinusitis is one of the most miserable infections you can have. Stuffy—yet simultaneously runny—noses, combined with nasal drainage, sinus headaches, and fever make this infection extremely frustrating. In most cases, people experiencing sinusitis are more than willing to take antibiotics to help them recover from its symptoms as quickly as possible. Therefore,...
Lyme disease is the most common-tick borne illness in both North America and Europe and can spread through deer ticks, which feed on the blood of animals and humans. Statistics indicate that you are most likely to contract Lyme disease if you live or spend time in grassy and heavily wooded areas where the ticks...
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the Marburg Virus is a virus that was actually discovered in 1967 in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany as well as in present day Serbia. When 31 people within the medical community came down with an unexplained hemorrhagic fever, this at first stumped doctors until the Marburg virus was...
Avian influenza is a flu virus that affects birds. It is a concern for humans because we are not immune to the virus and it can mutate to a strain that infects humans. This type of mutation could possibly cause a pandemic. The Origins of Avian Flu The first documented report of avian flu was...