As the climate changes, many new and re-emerging diseases are affecting populations around the world.

Increasing temperatures are encouraging disease carrying insects such as mosquitoes and ticks to roam beyond their normal habitats. As these insects travel further, they are carrying diseases such as dengue, malaria, lyme and tick-borne encephalitis to new places. It is thought that warming temperature could increase breeding, make food more abundant, and increase activity among these biting insects.

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Health threats like HIV, AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis kill millions of people across the globe every year. Yet in wealthy countries like the US, these diseases are afterthoughts. In underdeveloped countries like parts of Africa, India and Southeast Asia these diseases remain large threats. Combined, these diseases kill more than 5 million people per year, the equivalent of a full 747 airplane crashing every 44 minutes. With numbers like this, why aren’t we more concerned about these diseases?

One journalist believes that these diseases are not epidemics anymore because wealthy countries have defeated them, leaving poor underdeveloped countries to fend for themselves. According to Stat news, once a pandemic stops being an acute threat to life in high-income countries, the urgency drops, the focus shifts, and resource flows dwindle. This is what’s happened with earlier pandemics, such as HIV and AIDS, and tuberculosis: Decisive action was taken to contain the threat to life in rich countries, but it was then allowed to linger in poorer, more vulnerable countries, killing millions.

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Vaccines are our greatest defense against deadly and potentially deadly diseases. As a child, you were likely vaccinated against various diseases. But, if you do not have your immunization records, or are unsure of your vaccination status, a titer test might be something you should consider.

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Before the Zika virus was a household name, it was a relatively unknown and rare disease. Zika virus infections are similar to dengue and yellow fever in humans and were once isolated to a tiny part of Africa. And for the researchers who discovered it, naming Zika was easy, maybe even a bit boring.

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Rabies can have severe consequences if you come into contact with it. It only affects mammals, and most cases are from wildlife. But, pets and livestock can contract it too. Discover how rabies works, the types of animals that carry it, and the prevention techniques below.

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