diseases

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

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

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 mumps outbreak benches some of the NHL's top players
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'

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

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

Fertility Treatment for HIV-Positive Women in Africa

Fertility Treatment for HIV-Positive Women in Africa

Combating Contraception Mythology in South Africa

Combating Contraception Mythology in South Africa
The World

Deadly MERS Virus Traced to Bats in Saudi Arabia

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.

Deadly MERS Virus Traced to Bats in Saudi Arabia

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

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.

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

Dual Epidemics Threaten Australia's Koalas

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.

Dual Epidemics Threaten Australia's Koalas

China's Bird Flu Credibility Gap

The Chinese government is reacting to the new outbreak of bird flu with some refreshing transparency. But The World's Mary Kay Magistad in Beijing tells anchor Marco Werman that some Chinese who have questioned official statistics have landed in jail.

China's Bird Flu Credibility Gap

Tweets and Germs: Monitoring Infectious Diseases Online

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.

Tweets and Germs: Monitoring Infectious Diseases Online

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

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.

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

20,000 Birds Slaughtered in Shanghai to Prevent Spread of Avian Flu

Anchor Marco Werman talks with China correspondent Mary Kay Magistad about the latest in China on the reported cases of the H7N9 or bird flu virus in Shanghai.

20,000 Birds Slaughtered in Shanghai to Prevent Spread of Avian Flu

Cause for Concern Beyond China? Laurie Garrett on the H7N9 Flu

Anchor Marco Werman talks with global health analyst Laurie Garrett about concerns that the new flu emerging in China could become a global problem.

Cause for Concern Beyond China? Laurie Garrett on the H7N9 Flu

13 Skeletons Unearthed in London Could Shed Light on the Plague

Archaeologists in London have found 13 skeletons that date back 700 years. Historians say as many as 50,000 people died around the year 1348. Name the phenomenon that spread across Europe and re-shaped the human landscape of London.

13 Skeletons Unearthed in London Could Shed Light on the Plague
The World

The Flame Alphabet

William S. Burroughs famously said that "language is a virus." Novelist Ben Marcus took Burrough's line as inspiration for The Flame Alphabet.

The Flame Alphabet