Happy Halloween! Nearly all of us are familiar with Halloween and the celebrations that come with this holiday. Throughout much of North America, children will go door to door hoping for tasty treats, and, in many other parts of the world, celebrations are very similar. However, in some cases, local traditions are extremely different from those of the US and Canada. Here are four different events throughout the world that all happen in the fall and all celebrate the dead: Allhallowtide, Día de los Muertos, Pitru Paksha, and Obon. After reading about these fascinating traditions, we bet you you are going to want to plan your next trip abroad during the end of October!

Allhallowtide

Allhallowtide is the triduum (three day period) that encompasses Hallowe’en, Hallowmas (All Saints’ Day) and All Souls Day. It is believed that the date of All Saints’ Day was established by Pope Gregory III around the year 740.

Hallowe’en goes by many names: Halloween (most commonly), All Hallow’s Eve, and a few others, but, while the name has changed, traditions have been more or less the same for many years.

All Saints’ Day (originally known as Hallowmas) takes place on November 1, and it is a holy day to honor saints and martyrs, both known and unknown. For many Christian sects, especially Catholics, it is a day to attend church and honor those who have passed.

All Souls’ Day falls on November 2, and it is a day to honor all faithful Christians.

Día de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Latin American holiday observed mainly in Mexico. Much like All Saints’ Day, the holiday focuses on remembering the dead, but, instead of religious figures, it has a distinct focus on close family and friends who have passed. Building private altars called ofrendas, bringing gifts like candy skulls or marigolds to graves, and leaving possessions for the dead are all common practices. It is a very colorful and festive holiday, making it similar in this regard to Asia’s Diwali.

The practices of remembrance have spread throughout Latin America, and there are a variety of variations on Dia de los Muertos in Brazil, Haiti, Bolivia, Ecuador, and even parts of the United States.

Obon

Held from mid-July through the end of August, depending on the region, Obon is a Japanese Buddhist festival that honors the spirit of one’s ancestors. It lasts for three days and features a variety of traditions and activities. Two of the most notable are the Bon Odori and Toro Nagashi.

The Bon Odori, or Bon Dance, is a traditional folk dance meant to welcome the spirits of the dead. Each region of Japan has its own version of the Bon Odori. Often, the dance will feature an important aspect of the area’s history.

Toro Nagashi is a ceremony in which paper lanterns are floated either down river or into a body of water. The ceremony represents the traditional belief that humans came from water and so will eventually return to it. Unlike many other ceremonies associated with holidays and the dead, Toro Nagashi will take place at different times throughout the year, generally to mark specific tragic events like the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the 2011 Tsunami.

Pitru Paksha

Literally translated as “fortnight of the ancestors,” Pitru Paksha is a 16-day holiday during which Hindus celebrate their ancestors. It generally takes place between September and October, but, like Obon, it can vary by region within India and Southeast Asia. The most important ceremony of Pitru Paksha is the Shraddha, a ritual that helps ensure that the soul of an ancestor goes to heaven.

The Shraddha is performed on a specific date during the Pitru Paksha, usually when the ancestor or parent died. There are exceptions for this based on whether someone died in a particular manner or had achieved a certain status while still alive. The ceremony is generally carried out by the eldest son who takes a purifying bath before starting the ceremony. The Shraddha then involves offering food to the ancestors, and it is a very sacred rite. The offering is considered accepted if a crow, a symbol of Yama or the spirit of the ancestors, arrives and eats the food.

We’d love to hear about your Halloween and ancestral traditions as well, or if you celebrate one of the traditions we have listed above. Have you ever traveled overseas for a Halloween event? Comment below and tell us what you do!

Every day, news organizations throughout the world report on rabies and rabies exposure. It is one of the more common diseases that affects both humans and animals. News coverage has led many individuals to wonder whether they or their children need to be vaccinated for the disease. Let’s address those questions here.

Normally, preventative vaccination is recommended as one of the best methods to prevent a disease. Flu, measles, meningitis; these are common vaccinations that virtually everyone receives. But, there are some vaccines, like the rabies vaccination, that prevent diseases that are so uncommon that they become less necessary, at least across the board.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “People at high risk of exposure to rabies, such as veterinarians, animal handlers, rabies laboratory workers, spelunkers, and rabies biologics production workers should be offered rabies vaccine,” as well as international travelers who are likely to come in contact with animals in regions where the disease is widespread.

The average person in a developed nation will most likely never be exposed to rabies in a way that would require preventative vaccination. In 2012, the CDC reported that there was only one documented case of rabies in a human, and 93% of reported animal cases occurred in wild, not domesticated, animals. Unless you are traveling to a region where rabies is common, it is entirely possible that you will never see it.

The CDC wisely notes that staying away from wild animals is the best way to avoid exposure to rabies. However, if you are bitten by a wild animal, always seek immediate medical help, and your medical professional can decide whether you need to be given the vaccine (which is effective pre- and post-exposure).

For more information on rabies and where you can be vaccinated, feel free to contact a Passport Health vaccination specialist.

A new report shows that what you eat might affect how well the flu vaccine affects you. The study, published by Cell Press in Immunity, shows that microbes in the human stomach might help increase the effectiveness of flu vaccines.

“Our findings raise the possibility that antibiotic treatment prior to or during vaccination may impact immunity,” said Bali Pulendran, a senior study author.

Although it is still uncertain if taking antibiotics before or during vaccination will increase the effectiveness of the vaccine in humans, researchers found that there was a difference in how mice reacted to the vaccines depending on what was happening in their stomachs at the time of inoculation.

“Another potential implication of our study is that we may be able to manipulate gut microbes in order to improve immune responses to the vaccine,” continued Pulendran.

In developing nations, influenza vaccines have tended to be less effective leaving many, especially the very young and very old, still vulnerable to infection. The reasons for this are still unknown, generally because so little is known about the body’s response to vaccination. Pulendran’s study tries to narrow this knowledge gap.

Two sets of mice were used in the test. One group was raised in a relatively germ-free environment or treated with antibiotics while the other group was exposed to germs on a regular basis. Those that had been treated with antibiotics were found to be more vulnerable to the flu even after vaccination. Not only that, but mice that had been genetically modified to lack a gene called TLR5, which some humans lack as well, were found to react similarly to those that had been on antibiotics.

What exactly this means for future research is yet to be determined, but what has become apparent is that taking antibiotics or even eating certain foods could potentially affect how well a vaccine works in your immune system.

“In the future,” says Pulendran, “it will be important to determine the impact of antibiotic treatment on immunity to vaccinations in humans and to study whether differences in the composition of gut microbes in different populations can impact vaccine immunity.”

We will keep you updated as further studies are released about the impact antibiotics have on flu vaccine efficacy!

For more information on flu vaccinations or to schedule your own appointment with a Passport Health flu specialist, visit our website or call us at 1-888-499-PASS (7277).

A new, inexpensive malaria test needs only a drop of blood and a little time to identify the presence of the disease in a patient’s blood, according to a paper published in the journal Nature Medicine.

The new device, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, uses Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry (MRR) to detect the waste products of plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria. That waste, called hemozoin, contains small amounts of iron, making it easy to measure using the MRR process.

By using this process, the test can not only identify the presence of malaria in the blood but also help in the treatment of the disease by measuring if there has been a drop in the level of hemozoin in the blood.

However, the most amazing part may just be the cost. “Since this technique does not rely on expensive labeling with chemical reagents, we are able to get each diagnostic test done at a cost of less than 10 cents,” says Weng Kung Peng, a researcher on the project. A new device could be constructed for less than $2,000.

MIT’s MRR system is a big departure from traditional methods of diagnosing malaria. Currently, the most common testing method involves using a microscope and analyzing the blood manually, a far less accurate and more time consuming process.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates annual malaria deaths at more than 600,000 each year across the globe. While the disease is preventable, it can be difficult to treat and even diagnose in the most affected areas, like sub-Saharan Africa, due to high costs and a lack of access to proper preventative measures.

What do you think? Do new blood tests hold promise for the ongoing fight against malaria? Leave a comment below!

As we’ve been moving toward Halloween the flu has been moving slowly across the country. This week’s Flu Report is a focus in how the flu is spreading regionally but has yet to take hold across the nation.

Overview:

Influenza is spreading, we all knew that was going to happen. But, the unexpected is how it is staying extremely regional. Almost 70% of all flu cases in the United States are coming from the South according to CDC reporting. FluNearYou.org seems to be supporting this with their research as well. The CDC and FluNearYou.org’s national rates now appear to be almost identical with the CDC reporting 1.3% and FluNearYou.org 1.6%. What’s interesting is the overall increase in cases which rose 17.5% over the last week. While not a drastic increase it shows that we could soon have a much higher level of cases than we currently are seeing.

By the Numbers:

In the United States, the CDC has reported:

• Flu Cases – 282
• Flu-related Hospitalizations – No Current Data
• Flu-related Deaths – 5.4%

NOTE: Flu cases, as referenced above, are confirmed cases in people who have gone to see medical professionals. Percentage estimates, referenced in the “Overview” section, include these documented cases from medical professionals but also a variety of other self-reported metrics.

As flu season progresses, more up to date information will become available.

Around the World:

The good news is that not a single country in the world is listed as high volume for the flu by Google Flu Trends. However, more countries in the Northern Hemisphere are moving closer to a moderate ranking meaning that the flu is beginning to spread more and more throughout areas in the developed world.

Staying Healthy:

Our tip for this week: Be flu conscious when you travel! If you’re in a taxi or a bus or in your Uber car be sure to wash your hands after and do not touch your face. When germs get on your hands they can stay there for a while and touching places can leave those germs there. These germs can then infect you especially if they are near your mouth or any part of you that allows easy entry for bacteria. Remember, that is the same basic process that can give you pink eye. For additional help contact a Passport Health flu professional at 1-888-499-PASS (7277) and we’ll help you schedule your flu vaccination today.

The Flu Report is a weekly blog post designed to give updates on the spread of influenza throughout the year. It is posted every Friday and focuses on regional outbreaks, global spread and ways to avoid infection.