This tough bacteria known as MRSA is often called a super bug because it’s so hard to treat Name MRSA aka methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (pronounced mur-sah) Transmission Staph are common bacteria that live on our skin, in our noses, and in our throats, but MRSA is caused by a type of staph bacteria that is…
#IDFridays Week 52: MRSA
#IDFridays Week 51: The Plague
Also known as The Black Death, the plague is 1 of the oldest identifiable diseases known to humans Name Plague aka The Black Death Transmission An infectious disease caused by a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis These bacteria mostly live in small mammals (especially wild rodents) The bacteria spread among rodents through fleas (insects) that bite…
#IDFridays Week 50: Zika virus
The Zika virus has made so many headlines in the last year. Find out why: Name Zika virus Transmission The Zika virus is transmitted several ways: Infected mosquitoes biting people Infected pregnant women can pass the virus to their babies which leads to severe birth defects The virus can be passed through sex from an…
#IDFridays Week 49: Leprosy
There are so many myths about leprosy. Does it cause your body parts to fall off? Does it make you blind? Learn the facts below Name Leprosy, now known as Hansen’s disease (named after G. A. Hansen who discovered it in 1873) Transmission A chronic infection caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae that mainly affects…
#IDFridays Week 48: West Nile Virus
80% of people with this virus don’t have any symptoms Name West Nile Virus aka WNV (name comes from the West Nile district of Uganda where it was discovered in 1937) Transmission A virus that lives in birds but can spread to and infect humans, horses, and other mammals When mosquitoes bite birds infected with…
#IDFridays Week 47: Typhoid
You can get this illness from the food you eat and the water you drink Name Typhoid fever Transmission A serious illness caused by a bacteria called Salmonella Typhi that can spread throughout the body and affect many organs The Salmonella Typhi bacteria live in humans (in the bloodstream and intestinal tract) and exit the…
#IDFridays Week 46: Swine Flu
A swine flu pandemic in 2009 killed more than 284,000 people worldwide Name Swine flu (swine influenza) Transmission A respiratory disease caused by a group of influenza viruses that regularly cause influenza outbreaks in pigs There are different subtypes and strains of swine influenza viruses The outbreaks usually cause illness in pigs, but do not…
#IDFridays Week 45: Chickenpox
Why is it called chickenpox? Some say the rash it causes makes people look like they’ve been pecked by chickens Name Chickenpox aka varicella Transmission A highly contagious disease caused by the varicella zoster virus, which is in the family of herpes viruses It spreads from person to person via infected droplets from sneezing or…
#IDFridays Week 44: Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever
This disease appeared in the UK and Spain for the first time this year Name Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) The disease was discovered in Crimea in 1944 and in 1969 it was recognized as the same pathogen responsible for an illness identified in 1956 in Congo Thus the joint name was formed Transmission CCHF is…
#IDFridays Week 43: Leishmaniasis
This is the largest parasitic killer after malaria Name Leishmaniasis (also known as kala azar, black fever, and the “Aleppo evil”) Transmission A parasitic disease that is categorized as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) The disease spreads when humans are infected with Leishmania parasites These parasites enter the body when people are bitten by an…
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