Disease

While the WHO is celebrating its eradication of one strain of polio, their efforts in wiping out the disease are far from completed. Other strains of polio as well as ghost viruses linked to certain vaccines are standing in the way of the eradication program. For more information, click here. 

After a rogue pediatrician allegedly reused infected syringes, nearly 900 children in Pakistan have tested positive for HIV. For more information, click here. 

WebMD: Studies on Japanese elderly people recently showed that consuming high levels of trans fats would lead to a greater risk of dementia. Foods with the highest levels of trans fats included candy, pastries, and high-carbohydrate food. Read the full article here.

Eastern equine encephalitis, generally referred to as its abbreviation EEE, generally has about 7 cases yearly in the United States. However, there have already been 30 cases in 2019. Humans cannot catch it from another human - humans catch the disease when a mosquito bites a horse infected with…

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had only a few cases last week, but then had 10 confirmed cases over the weekend. The outbreak is ongoing and still declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a public health emergency of international concern. One concern is…

As of recent updates, 33 people have died and 1,479 have fallen ill from a vaping-related lung disease. The CDC is now calling it EVALI for e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury. The outbreak is getting worse as flu season is coming back into full effect. The CDC is warning…

A woman from Tskane, South Africa was stricken with a deadly strain of tuberculosis. She was very ill and only weighed 57 pounds. Local nurses convinced her to transfer to Johannesburg Hospital, which was infested with vervet monkeys. They told her she was going to die. The trial she was enrolled…

The CDC hosts a website, FluSight, where projections can be submitted real-time during the flu season; Carnegie Mellon has consistently contributed some of the most accurate forecasts and the CDC just granted them $3 million to continue and expand their research. This funding will be used to…

The vaccination for the flu is changed every year; each flu season presents a slightly different strand which requires a different vaccination. There is a current push for scientific research to create a universal flu vaccination, a single vaccination that would cover many, or most, flu strains. …

LA Times: Many former theories surrounding the nutritional benefits of certain foods are slowly being debunked by recent advances in scientific research. For instance, red meat is commonly known to be "a killer," but that idea was recently a recent scientific study. Learn more about the research…

In 2018, Los Angeles saw various sexually transmitted diseases(STDs) reach their highest prevalence rates in over 30 years. Specifically, the California Department of Public Health reported a significant increase in syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. There were over 25,000, 200,000, and 79,000…

A study of 17 patients with vaping-related illnesses appear to have airway and lung damage that resembles those found after chemical spills or contact with harmful gases. While they have yet to identify what chemical causes this burn-like damage, they have identified that the previous hypothesis…

In the 1980’s, around 3 million people experienced the parasitic effects of the Guinea worm. Last year, this number was down to 28. Due to a series of setbacks, however, the World Health Organization has moved its expected Guinea worm eradication date from 2020 to 2030. For more information, click…

More than 1000 cases of measles have been reported as of mid-June 2019. The disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 but has resurfaced mainly in isolated groups of unvaccinated people. People who choose not to vaccinate are not only putting themselves in danger but also those who are…