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diseases

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

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

Sports

Sidney Crosby is one of the NHL’s top goal scorers, but he’s also one of more than a dozen players currently sidelined with the mumps. The outbreak has led the league to give players and coaches booster shots in an effort to contain the spread of the disease.

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’

Health
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

Health

Fertility Treatment for HIV-Positive Women in Africa

Lifestyle & Belief

Combating Contraception Mythology in South Africa

Health & Medicine
The World

Deadly MERS Virus Traced to Bats in Saudi Arabia

Health & 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

Arts, 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

Health & 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

Arts, 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.

Tweets and Germs: Monitoring Infectious Diseases Online

Arts, Culture & Media

Several scientific groups are tracking the global spread of infectious diseases by monitoring Twitter, web searches, and other content online. The World’s Rhitu Chatterjee looks at the promise and challenges of disease surveillance via the internet.