At the height of Spain’s tourist season, they had trouble stopping one foodborne illness. Cases of listeria spread across the region, causing one of Spain’s worst outbreaks of the disease.

The outbreak began in the summer, peaking in August, the height of the country’s tourist season. It wasn’t until mid-October that officials declared the outbreak over. Officials made this decision after they had gone 20 days without any new cases.

The outbreak caused over 200 cases of listeria confirmed by Spain’s Health Ministry. According to the government, there is reason to believe that there are an additional 500+ cases that are possible but have yet to be confirmed.

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In 2020, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to flock to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics.

But, even the sporting event of the year can run into issues with diseases.

Many chose not to travel for the Rio Olympics in 2016 due to Brazil’s ongoing Zika virus outbreak. The 2018 Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang had its own issues with a dangerous virus. An outbreak of norovirus spread to over 1,000 people at the event.

Japan is looking to get ahead of any of those risks. In preparation for this huge event, the country is already taking action for any kind of potential outbreak and to make the event as safe as possible.

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No.

While the explanation may be more complicated, the easy answer is you won’t get the flu from the vaccine. But, with ever-changing science and the ingredients in the vaccine, some are hesitant to get the flu shot due to some misconceptions.

It’s not possible to get the flu as a result of getting a flu shot. Although, it is possible to feel side effects after getting a flu shot.

Despite the possibility of side effects, it is important and recommended that all people over the age of five months get a flu vaccine every single year. While side effects may be annoying, influenza can cause serious complications.

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Typically, your mind might go to mosquitoes when thinking about diseases in Africa. With the risks of malaria and yellow fever, most travelers will fixate on arming against insect bites.

Non-communicable diseases will often go forgotten, although those illnesses are on the rise in Africa.

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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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