For many of the world’s most dangerous diseases, we struggle to find treatment. Whether it’s vaccines or antibiotics, researchers spend years looking for some way to fight the illness.

When it comes to typhoid fever, treatment and prevention methods aren’t the problem.

There have been a couple of vaccines and treatment plans for this disease for a while now. But, an increasing resistance to different types of antibiotics is making treatment more complicated. With almost 22 million reported cases of typhoid and 200,000 related deaths worldwide every year, it’s proving much harder to fight the disease.

If left alone, this issue can lead to drug resistant typhoid fever becoming even more common than it is now.

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Researchers at Temple University recently discovered that an HIV drug may help to suppress the Zika virus, which could lead to treatment of the virus worldwide.

Up until now, there have been no known vaccines or cures for the Zika virus. Current outbreaks and case numbers may not reach the levels we saw in 2016, but any help against Zika could be a breakthrough.

What is the Zika Virus?

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In the 56 years since the measles vaccine was created, we’ve made significant strides in fighting the virus. Even in this century alone, deaths due to measles have dropped significantly.

According to the World Health Organization, measles caused 110,000 deaths worldwide in 2017. That may still be an alarming amount, but it’s 80% less than the 545,000 deaths in 2000.

But, as we’ve seen around the world this year, vaccine hesitancy has caused a resurgence in cases and outbreaks.

Even in the cases where measles isn’t deadly, those who survive the infection have an increased morbidity and mortality. Up until recently, the reasons behind the increased morbidity and mortality were poorly understood. A new study shows that there are dangerous effects even for those who catch and are cured of measles.

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We’ve seen a variety of methods to keep mosquitoes who spread diseases at bay. Despite years of efforts, we still lack a vaccine for many of the most dangerous illnesses. For many people, the best method to stay safe is to simply avoid the insects altogether.

But, that doesn’t mean scientists have stopped trying to fight the diseases. A new technique could help slow down the spread of many mosquito-borne illnesses.

Scientists are currently working on a new method that will use radiation to sterilize male mosquitoes. The technique involves the World Health Organization and the UN, and is also environmentally friendly.

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This August, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared their 10th Ebola outbreak. The DRC has had nine other Ebola virus outbreaks over the course of 40 years. From August to November of this year, there have been 2,194 deaths in the DRC due to Ebola.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in October that cases are decreasing, but that doesn’t mean the outbreak is finished.

The situation is still an official emergency in the DRC because outbreaks continue to pop up in the northeast of the country. It’s this area that is still being affected the worst by Ebola. The outbreak has also put nearby countries at risk, spreading to Uganda in July.

Throughout August, there was anywhere between 75 and 100 new cases of Ebola each week in DRC, although, the numbers started dropping as the year continued. The region started to see just under 50 new cases a week in November.

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