Dengue fever cases are rising globally, worrying experts. The virus is spreading to areas where it wasn’t found before, including the United States.
Treatment options for dengue fever are very limited. As global case numbers break records, researchers are rushing to find real solutions. New developments promise innovative approaches to dengue prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
The Black Death is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It may have killed up to half of Europe’s population.
Two years ago, researchers suggested that the plague might have left marks in human DNA. But recent studies disagree with these findings. Other studies highlight possible flaws in the methods used. More research is needed to finally resolve the debate about the plague’s impact on human DNA.
West African nations have been inoculating against smallpox for centuries. African, Arab, and Asian communities used this practice for safe trade.
Africans brought smallpox prevention to the Americas before the 18th century. Later, Edward Jenner used these ancient techniques to invent the first vaccine.
This tool became crucial in the 20th-century effort to eradicate smallpox. The virus claimed hundreds of millions of lives before global cooperation stopped it.
Now, West Africa faces a new, related viral disease: mpox. Formerly called monkeypox, mpox has infected over 30,000 Africans in 2024 alone.
Africa helped create vaccines. It now needs them from the rest of the world to fight the mpox crisis.
Best-selling author John Green, known for The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down, has emerged as an advocate for ending tuberculosis. Uploaded last year, his YouTube video, Barely Contained Rage: An Open Letter to Johnson & Johnson, has reached 1.4 million views.
The video highlighted how pharmaceutical companies set high prices for TB treatments. Costs remain out of reach to the most vulnerable populations to TB.
Green’s voice adds to the global call for TB action. The disease became the world’s deadliest in 2023, surpassing COVID-19. Though curable, TB kills millions yearly, especially in poorer regions. Global cooperation is improving, but efforts must redouble to reduce TB’s urgent threat.
Antimicrobial Resistance, or AMR, is dramatically increasing worldwide. In 2019, AMR caused 5 million deaths. Medical professionals and governments urgently need new interventions to tackle drug resistance. Otherwise, millions more lives will be at risk in coming years.
The World Health Organization calls AMR a “silent pandemic.” It could undo a century of medical progress. In the near future, AMR might turn minor infections into deadly threats.
Estimates suggest that bacterial AMR kills more people than HIV or malaria. A study in The Lancet predicts that from 2024 to 2050, nearly 40 million people will die from AMR diseases. During this period, deaths from AMR could increase by almost 70%.
