Three Disease Outbreaks You Should Know About

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There’s been a number of outbreaks over this past year, but now is an important time to know them. With many people traveling to various places now and in the new year, you need to know what is still hanging around, that you might need to look out for.

 

Take measles, the highly contagious disease is currently spreading across Europe.  Measles causes not just whole-body skin rash, but also respiratory symptoms. Of course, there are vaccines that went out to fight them and have been since 1963. However, outbreaks are still prominent in various parts of the world. The upside to this is the number of deaths from measles has significantly dropped thanks to the use of vaccines.

 

These outbreaks have occurred in seven countries within Europe. Out of them, the more popular spots that got hit were France, Italy, Ukraine, and Serbia.

 

Another disease outbreak is the Nipah virus that was borne from bats. The Nipah virus is a rare infectious disease with no vaccine or cure at the moment. It’s got a fatality rate of up to 75 percent  Early symptoms of this virus include: mental confusion, fevers, and vomiting. Nipah can also cause breathing issues which can lead to pneumonia. Worse, it can cause inflammation of the brain which can l cause seizures, comas, or death.

 

The first Nipah outbreak was in May 2018, and lingered in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, on India’s coast. It was the first ever outbreak in southern India, with 19 cases and 17 deaths. The infection has been contained and there have been no new cases since June.

 

Another disease outbreak was the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ebola is a rare infectious disease that’s fatal when untreated. The virus is caught when blood or bodily fluids are transferred to a person from an infected person or animal. It causes flu-like symptoms before leading to vomiting, kidney impairment, and internal and external bleeding. The DRC is currently in the midst of fighting their largest outbreak to date.

 

The third disease is the Norovirus. There were many cases of it during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The norovirus is one of the common causes of gastroenteritis, inflammation, and irritation of the stomach and intestines. It can lead to nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and a lot of diarrhea. Treatment generally is supportive care, lots of bed rest and fluids. Typically, the virus is contracted by consuming food or drink that’s contaminated with fecal matter from an infected person. However, in the case of the outbreak in the Winter Olympics, the virus can spread quickly from a contaminated surface. With so many people close together, it’s not surprising to see 324 people contracting the disease. Some of those being security members which prompted the South Korean army to fill in. This outbreak even passed over to athletes.

 

While some of these outbreaks are contained and dealt with, that doesn’t mean they are gone forever. People can still contract these, so it’s important to be mindful that you are protected. The last thing you want to be dealing with when going to a new place is getting a virus.

2 thoughts on “Three Disease Outbreaks You Should Know About

  • January 1, 2019 at 12:34 am
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    The overlooked (but essential to health) micronutrient molybdenum is key to treating norovirus. A chelated form of it, molybdenum glycinate, given as needed is very effective at treating the nausea/vomiting/diarrhea induced by norovirus.

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