Last year’s flu season was reportedly the deadliest in 40 years with at least 80,000 lives taken according to the CDC.

The total for the 2017-2018 flu season was revealed in late September 2018. It is significantly higher than recent counts of flu-related deaths, which have been between 12,000 and 56,000 per year.

Experts knew at the time that the disease was hitting harder than anticipated, but such a high toll was unexpected. In fact, Vanderbilt University vaccine expert Dr. William Schaffner told the Associated Press that the amount was almost twice as much as what officials had previously considered to be a bad year.

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A few short years ago, Zika virus was in the news on a daily basis.

As cases reached North America, millions worried about the dangerous illness. Those fears peaked during the summer of 2016, with thousands of cases around the world.

Zika is of the flavivirus family that comes from mosquitoes in the Aedes aegypti group. Researchers suggest that people who have had Zika in the past cannot get it again and are immune to it. Scientists began to conduct research to create a vaccine, but with fewer reported cases in recent years, there was less urgency for the vaccine.

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When taking a cross-country road trip in North America, it can be a point of emphasis to stop in small towns. Travelers get a feel for the areas the otherwise would never get to explore.

But, this practice is usually overlooked when thinking about traveling abroad.

That doesn’t mean foreign travelers don’t have many opportunities. Much like a trip in the United States or Canada, these small towns can often provide more authentic and memorable experiences.

Here are five small towns that you need to visit in foreign countries:

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In recent years, we’ve seen some promising results for disease prevention in low-income countries. But, in during that same time, lower-middle income countries have been forgotten.

The lack of money for vaccinations in these countries has created new disease risks. Worse, the most common are the preventable diseases that pose little threat in other regions. This brings along with it a strong likelihood of future outbreaks if things don’t change.

But, what makes up a lower-middle income country?

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Many people likely weren’t familiar with monkeypox until September 2018 when major news broke from officials that the United Kingdom had its first ever case of monkeypox.

One month later, a total of three patients have been diagnosed in the country. Though further cases are unlikely, the incident has built up some concern. Travelers and healthcare workers alike worry of the deadly disease.

As epidemiology (the study and analysis of the various factors of health and disease events) shows us, knowledge is imperative to preventing the spread of many diseases. So, how did three people get the monkeypox virus in England in the first place? And what risk does the disease pose to people who may have been exposed to it?

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