Four new diseases pose a risk to travelers to tropical areas. The FDA recently added Lassa fever, chikungunya, rabies and cryptococcal meningitis to the Tropical Disease Priority List.

In a press release, the FDA’s Chief Scientist RADM Denise Hinton addressed the need for these additions. She noted that the list encourages new treatment for these diseases. By prioritizing them, we could see a push for new medicines or vaccines that could help the millions of people who live in these areas.

We’ve seen recent evidence of the effects these diseases can have on tropical regions.

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In many parts of the world, yellow fever is no longer an issue. Yes, some parts of the world still have regular bouts with the disease, but medicine and vaccines have helped with that problem.

Although, not so long ago, the disease was responsible for terrible epidemics. People were forced to flee their homes with the fires still burning.

Scientists estimate that yellow fever originated in Africa around 3,000 B.C. It started with a smaller impact in local villages, growing in range to large cities.

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Most people consider a toilet seat to be dirty, but did you know that the average cell phone is thought to be 10 times worse?

Scientists estimate that mobile phones contain over 25,000 bacteria per square inch. A study published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine noted found that the phones of secondary students in Estonia had approximately 17,032 bacterial gene copies per phone. These are statistics that certainly grab attention.

While this information should encourage you to clean your hands (and your phone) more often, don’t panic.

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Although the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are two years away, experts are already worrying of a possible dengue outbreak.

In 2014, Tokyo suffered an outbreak of dengue fever, with 34 individuals affected. Experts are worried that with such a large amount of people coming to the games, the risk of the virus spreading quickly will greatly increase.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne illness, spread to humans by infected mosquitoes. The insects contract dengue when they bite a person who has the virus. From there, the infection spreads. Humans can’t directly spread the disease to others.

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The topic of latent tuberculosis has been a subject of debate recently. How common is it really?

Tuberculosis is a lung disease transferred from person to person by infected particles in the air. This makes tuberculosis highly contagious. But, even though the disease is airborne, not everyone who comes in contact with TB will become infected.

There are two types of tuberculosis: tuberculosis disease and latent tuberculosis.

We know the ongoing dangers of tuberculosis disease. Even with the help of modern medicine, tuberculosis continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous diseases.

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