1. Influenza – A high fever, chills, body aches, sore throat and coughing are the hallmarks of influenza. The flu tends to strike more people during the winter months. Flu vaccines cut down on a person’s chances of catching the virus, but not everyone takes advantage of the vaccine. Children are one of the largest groups affected by the flu.
As influenza viruses evolve, so must vaccines. Instead of traditional vaccines that protect people from only a few strains of the virus, a universal flu vaccine is on its way.
2. Bird Flu – H5N1 avian influenza is still in the news, with more documented cases being discovered in humans and animals. An Indonesian woman died of bird flu, raising the country’s human death toll from the virus to 95.
Nearly 19,000 chickens in the West Bengal’s Birbhum district of India are thought to have died from bird flu last week. If the virus is detected, this will be the fourth time India has been struck in the last two years.
A new outbreak of the virus was also found in wild swans in the United Kingdom.
3. Outbreak of diseases in Africa – The booming African continent has seen its share of infectious disease outbreaks, such as Ebola and Malaria.
An Ebola outbreak in Uganda in December is now said to be under control.
Experts are predicting Uganda may be hit with a possible outbreak of meningitis.
