Autumn has been a difficult season for San Diego, thanks to a large hepatitis A outbreak.

The outbreak was officially declared a local public health emergency by the San Diego Public Health Officer on September 1, 2017. The outbreak progressed and spread to nearby areas like Los Angeles and Santa Cruz. This prompted California Governor Jerry Brown to officially declare a state of emergency on October 13.

Hepatitis A is a virus spread through contaminated food and water. This usually occurs when the food or water is polluted with the fecal matter of someone who’s infected.

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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.

Symptoms from the disease can range from mild to fatal. Cholera typically causes symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting. Both of which can lead to death due to dehydration if left untreated.

Origins of the disease trace back to approximately 500 B.C. Since then, there have been two “first” genuine discoveries of cholera’s bacteria, once in the 1850s and once in the 1880s.

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You’ve heard of chickenpox and smallpox, but what about monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a rare viral disease, similar to smallpox but considerably milder.

Surprisingly, it’s not a new discovery as you may have suspected.

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Backpackers can attest there’s no better way to fully experience a country than by walking through it.

Staying in a hostel or tent in the woods and interacting with locals. Grabbing food from a street cart and trekking through roving landscapes. The experience isn’t for everyone, but backpacking is a fulfilling and unique way to see foreign countries.

Whether you’re searching for history, food, culture, art, nature, good prices, or a mixture of everything, here are the six of the best countries for backpacking:

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The holidays, cold weather and the flu. It’s an unfortunate combination, but all these things come around toward the end of the year.

And with the flu season in tow, there are also many myths involving the virus that people believe. Here are five of the most common flu myths about the virus and why you shouldn’t believe them:

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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.

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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.

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Unique to rest of the world, Middle Eastern cuisine is actually similar from country-to-country within the region.

Using many of the same ingredients, the small changes in each country make the dishes stand out.

Fava beans are popular throughout the Middle East, but boiled in some places and eaten green in others. Coffee is thicker in Turkey and saved for special occasions in Oman. One constant for hungry travellers is a wide variety of spices and flavors in the food throughout the Middle East:

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This past summer European travelers from all over the continent descended on the town of Tramonti di Sopra.

People flocked to this Italian area for a celebration. The European Rainbow Gathering ran for four weeks, centered around the idea of spiritual connection and hope.

Attendees came with good intentions, but some left with a life-threatening problem. An outbreak of typhoid spread throughout the celebration, hitting a region that rarely sees the disease.

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In 2008, China diverted water from nearby communities for the upcoming Olympic Games. This would create enough clean and drinkable water for the event.

Along with the highly polluted air suffocating residents of Beijing, this process created a huge uproar. The spotlight was now on China’s efforts to clean up its environment. Strides would be needed to create safe living conditions throughout the country.

A recent development may change the world’s view on the China’s water pollution. Home to 1.38 billion people, China is working to create positive change for the world’s most-populated country.

The process began earlier in 2017.

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