Shingles, which is caused by the varicella zoster virus, is an illness that one in three people will deal with in their lifetime. This is because the chickenpox virus is still in their body, and has reactivated to form what is now at this age, shingles. Various factors like age, medical status, and other diseases that could’ve possibly caused it to reactivate. Is shingles contagious? Can you catch shingles by hugging someone with shingles? While chickenpox is also caused by the same virus, does that mean that shingles is, too?

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Typhoid fever is a life-threatening illness caused by the bacteria Salmonella serotype Typhi. It’s a common traveler’s related disease, with around 21 million reported cases of typhoid globally each year. Typhoid is a highly infectious bacterial infection that is usually spread through the ingestion of food or water that has been contaminated by feces. Once infected, typhoid can affect multiple organs within the body, and without proper treatment, can lead to complications and even death. Currently it’s estimated that up to 1 in 5 people will die if their typhoid fever is left untreated. Luckily, there are preventative methods and treatments plans available to both help prevent and treat typhoid.

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Chickenpox and herpes are not the same thing. Chickenpox is a contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. Herpes, on the other hand, are types of viruses in themselves. The two common types of herpes viruses are the herpes-zoster virus which causes shingles and the herpes simplex virus.

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Airplanes can be crowded as it is. The prospect of getting up and using the bathroom is pretty drab. Honestly, no one really wants to squish inside of a bathroom that is the size of a small coat closet, but we have to do what we have to do. When traveling on an airplane, many people wonder about where the waste on an airplane goes after you flush the toilet. Here’s how it all goes down.

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The World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated in 1979. In the 40 years since that achievement, a smallpox-related debate has remained within the scientific community.

Experts across the globe are still unsure whether live virus samples should be stored or destroyed.

Smallpox, caused by the variola virus, has been stored in frozen test tubes in two laboratories to preserve the surviving strains of the virus. While most were collected during the time of eradication, there are some samples dated to the early 1930s. After the complete eradication the WHO decided that the frozen samples should be destroyed. What the organization did not decide is a date for that destruction.

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