diseases

Medical wax museum in Spain showcasing 19th-century diseases is set to close

July 10, 2025Health & Medicine

Spain’s wax museum of dermatology, once a treasured teaching tool for medical students, will be closing its doors. Founded in the late 19th century, it contains hundreds of life-sized models of people infected with cutaneous and venereal diseases.

Pittsburgh Penguins player Sidney Crosby has been diagnosed with the mumps.

A mumps outbreak benches some of the NHL’s top players

December 16, 2014Sports

A man washes his hands at a tap outside the Green Pharmacy at Area 8 in Abuja, Nigeria.

Nigeria’s government stunned critics in acting quickly to make the country ‘Ebola free’

October 22, 2014Health

Health workers carry the body of an ebola virus victim in Kenema, Sierra Leone.

The death of a key doctor damages the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone

July 30, 2014Health

Fertility Treatment for HIV-Positive Women in Africa

September 17, 2013Lifestyle & Belief

Combating Contraception Mythology in South Africa

September 17, 2013Health & Medicine

Sexual attitudes are changing in South Africa. But there remains challenges in family planning and disease prevention. Anchor Marco Werman talks with reporter Poppy Louw from The Times newspaper in Johannesburg about those challenges.

Deadly MERS Virus Traced to Bats in Saudi Arabia

September 17, 2013Health & Medicine

A deadly new SARS-like virus has been traced to bats. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, is lethal to 60 percent of those infected. A new study has found the virus is carried by a type of bat in Saudi Arabia, ground-zero for the disease.

Remembering Ali Maow Maalin, the Last Person in the World to Contract Smallpox

August 15, 2013Arts, Culture & Media

In Somalia, Ali Maow Maalin died unexpectedly this week. His passing is a milestone in the history of a viral disease: smallpox. Ali Maow Maalin was the last person in the world to be infected with naturally occurring smallpox.

Dual Epidemics Threaten Australia’s Koalas

August 15, 2013Health & Medicine

Australia’s koala population has been hit hard by two rapidly spreading diseases: chlamydia (a sexually transmitted infection) and a retrovirus similar to HIV. Scientists are working to develop vaccines, while lay citizens help care for sick koalas.

Faces of Elephantiasis: In Nigeria, Patients Remain After the Disease is Gone

August 15, 2013Arts, Culture & Media

Philip Graitcer used to work in Africa as an epidemiologist for the CDC. Recently he returned to Africa as a journalist and met people living with elephantiasis. He shares his thoughts on the patients who remain even when a disease is gone.