Tourism is an important component for many economies.

While the United States ranks number one in tourism, pulling $210.7 billion per year, it did not have the most international visitors according to HowMuch.net. That title goes to the home of the Eiffel Tower and some of the world’s best cooking. France earned about 86.9 million visitors compared to the U.S. which had only 74.7 million. It is important to note that these numbers do not count for intercountry tourism.

France has held the title as “most visited” for years, but the European country may see its reign come to an end soon. By 2030 experts foresee China becoming the world’s most visited country.

[Read more…]

As of March 2019, an outbreak of Ebola had caused confirmed infections in almost 2,000 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During the same timeframe as this Ebola outbreak, India has begun a battle against the Nipah virus.

The CDC and other organizations have since helped the DRC and neighboring countries with relief efforts. They have aided with infection control, health screenings and education, and giving vaccinations.

The Ebola outbreak has prompted new research into vaccines and treatments. A recent breakthrough has resulted in a seemingly two-for-one vaccine; this vaccine has scientists hopeful they may now have a way to also prevent the Nipah virus.

[Read more…]

The world has been busy with virus and disease outbreaks over the last few years. It’s more than an increase in measles. Hepatitis A has also surged recently, along with yellow fever and various other new illnesses in the country.

Health officials have had a tough task handling these new disease risk. They’ve looked for completely new outlets to improve relief efforts and help those affected by the outbreaks.

Two of the most notable outbreaks in recent years were cholera in Zimbabwe and Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The cholera outbreak led to the country’s Ministry of Health declaring a state of emergency. Ebola cases in the DRC seem to grow with every new day. The virus has spiraled so out of control that it became the world’s second largest Ebola outbreak in history.

[Read more…]

Experimental medicine has long been a staple when it comes to treating disease.

A rudimentary smallpox inoculation centuries ago led to the first vaccine, but recently we’ve also seen many new ideas. Odor profiling is now used to find asymptomatic malaria patients and new immunotherapy techniques can expose and eliminate HIV.

But still, these experimental solutions can come from even more surprising sources. Recently, that source is muck from a partially decomposed eggplant. That treatment has already ended up playing a major role in giving life back to one young cystic fibrosis patient in 2017.

[Read more…]

After a century of testing and research, we found a breakthrough with the polio vaccine in 1955. Since that time, the vaccine in some form has been used around the world to greatly reduce polio risk.

The widely-used oral vaccine has been the standard polio immunization in most countries. This immunization benefits from an attenuated form of polio within the vaccine, according to the New Scientist. When the body’s immune system recognizes the virus as an intruder, the immune system is activated and fights against the ingested “illness.”

But, we’ve also learned that polio can change over time.

This live virus is smart and has the ability to mutate, which then causes polio even though the person was vaccinated. According to Medical Express, that can happen for one in 2.7 million cases. They do go on to mention the many benefits of the oral vaccine. “It is cheap to make and easy to administer: people just swallow it.”

[Read more…]