What comes to mind when you think of scarlet fever?

To many people, the disease is ancient. Thanks to modern medicine and vaccinations, reports of the ailment are few and far between. In fact, most people think that scarlet fever is completely eradicated and any news about it pertains to its effect in the past.

Unfortunately, scarlet fever is not just an illness reserved for history. In fact, there have been recent outbreaks of the infectious disease in the United Kingdom. Officials reported 6,000 cases of scarlet fever in 2016.

[Read more…]

College is the time to learn, experience, and explore, and studying abroad offers a perfect opportunity for this personal growth. According to a recent study, studying overseas also provides a great return on investment when looking for a job after college. But, if you are planning on going overseas, what can you do to prepare and have the best possible experience?

[Read more…]

Mark Kendall earned the Young Florey Medal in 2016 for developing a breakthrough in vaccines. So, what did the professor at the University of Queensland invent? The Nanopatch.

Kendall’s work drew the attention of the CDC and the World Health Organization. Now the professor is working with Vaxxas and the school’s Institute for Bio engineering and Nanotechnology to get the patch ready for the public.

[Read more…]

From the first cholera vaccine created in 1885 to Vaxchora (approved by the FDA in 2016), the world has a much better understanding of the disease and its epidemics. That’s why knowing how vaccination prevention works is such an important tool.

Cholera is a bacterial disease the can be transmitted in water or food contaminated with Vibrio cholerae bacteria.

[Read more…]

One person is diagnosed with tuberculosis about every three seconds. Of these people, one sixth of them will die from the disease. However, Medecins Sans Frontieres (also known as Doctors Without Borders) hopes to decrease this startling statistic with the help of drones.

[Read more…]

A new report from the University of Michigan Risk Science Center claims that the main reason we do not vaccinate is because we are familiar with the disease.

[Read more…]

In this world full of wanderlust, with all the planes, trains, and automobiles, we can travel to remote islands and the deepest jungles or the most crowded and impressive cities. Covering these distances is something early explorers couldn’t even dream of. Still, like those early explorers, we need to be prepared for possible diseases in unfamiliar territory. A rare and unfamiliar disease for many today is Lassa Fever.

[Read more…]

The existence of “super-bugs,” or antibiotic resistant bacteria, has become a growing fear among public health experts. Antibiotics have had a near miraculous effect on public health. But, their overuse has created bacteria resistant to many antibiotics.

[Read more…]

It would be fairly safe to assume that if given a mauve bridesmaid’s dress or mauve curtains, most modern women would be less than enthusiastic. For years, the color mauve’s reputation has been far from fashion-forward, maybe even backward? But this wasn’t always the case.

Mauve enjoyed time in the limelight during the 19th century when the first synthetic dye mauveine, later nicknamed “mauve,” was accidentally and serendipitously discovered during the search for a malaria cure.

[Read more…]

Smallpox, is a contagious illness that has a mysterious origin, as well as a long history.

Recently, tiny particles of the disease were discovered on an Egyptian mummy, identified as Pharaoh Ramses the V. The pharaoh reigned from 1150 – 1145 B.C., leaving the mummy 3,000 years old. In recent years, traces of smallpox were also found on two other Egyptian mummies, reigning during the Egyptian Dynasty from 1570 – 1085 B.C.

If smallpox can be found in ancient pharaohs, then how old can it be? Millennia later, there’s still much debate over this issue.

[Read more…]