Some areas of the world have been able to get rid of malaria.

Even with decades of outbreaks, the parasite is gone in many countries. However, even if countries eradicate a disease, travelers always pose a risk of bringing it back.

This problem is even plaguing hospitals in the United States. Despite getting rid of the parasite long ago, 1,500 malaria cases can be found in U.S. clinics every year.

With the ease of travel and malaria’s persistence, is it even possible to fully eradicate the parasite around the world?

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Gap years are a growing trend among young adults.

A common gap year tends to be post high school graduation, postponing a first year of college until some future date. It’s filled with travel, work, and often volunteering. Many people believe it’s a good way to get some work under your belt before going to college and assessing what jobs may be in store for your future.

These gap years give young adults a chance to explore the world before hitting the books.

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Hajj, a religious pilgrimage to Mecca undertaken by Muslims from around the world, is known as the world’s largest gathering of people. The pilgrimage lasts for five days and is the fifth pillar of Islam.

All able Muslims are required to perform this journey once in their lives.

The event brings together a diverse group of Muslims from a wide variety of nationalities and backgrounds.

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Every year, the influenza vaccine is modified to best fight new strands of the virus in the next flu season. Recently, the World Health Organization announced the strains that would make up the flu vaccine in 2017-2018.

An annual vaccine for influenza is recommended for all people over the age of six months in order to prevent the illness. The flu shot is highly recommended for anyone over the age of 65. This age group is often at a higher risk of complications with the flu. Each year, the vaccine’s composition is changed to fit updated strains of the influenza virus.

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For the whole world to eradicate malaria, maybe we need to look at the successful countries.

If they’ve accomplished it, then there might be a blueprint to getting rid of the disease in other places.

In 2016, the WHO certified that Sri Lanka was malaria-free.

While many countries have gotten rid of malaria, Sri Lanka is a surprising addition to that list. The island south of India was home to one of the world’s worst malaria epidemics in the 1935. At its peak, the disease reached 1.5 million people, killing 80,000 of the citizens. These epidemics in the late 1900s were an effect of the poor surveillance of malaria as well as civil war.

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