Tag Archives: WHO

On February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern after the rapid increase of microencephaly cases in newborn babies, which is strongly believed to be linked to women with an infectious history of the Zika virus (ZIKV) during pregnancy. http://www.cdc.gov/zika/index.html ZIKV recently emerged as an epidemic in Latin America, particularly in Brazil.... Read Full Article >

Neglected tropical diseases are among the most common conditions afflicting the estimated 99 million people who live on less than US $2 per day in the Latin American and Caribbean region. One of these tropical diseases, Chagas, infects more than 8 million people worldwide. While most of those infected are in Latin and Central America, as many as 300,000 live.... Read Full Article >

Influenza is an illness caused by RNA viruses that infect the respiratory tract of many animals, birds, and humans.  Compared with most other viral respiratory infections, such as the common cold, influenza infection can cause a more severe illness or even death.  Influenza viruses are divided into three types, designated A, B, and C. Influenza types A and B, which are.... Read Full Article >

Diseases that follow natural disasters cause more deaths than the catastrophe itself with water supplies quickly becoming contaminated by human and animal excrement.  Thailand has recently experienced historical flooding after months of monsoon rain, which has left two out of the three landfills submerged, thereby causing contamination of water supplies and rice fields as garbage floats through the streets.  This.... Read Full Article >

Global cholera outbreaks, due to water or food contaminated with Vibrio cholerae, affect 3-5 million people each year with an estimated  100,000-130,000 deaths.  Cholera outbreaks are increasing, particularly in Haiti where more than 320,000 cases have been reported, resulting in 5,000 deaths since October 2010. Prior to the devastating earthquake, Haiti had been free of this debilitating disease for more than 100.... Read Full Article >