Pestilence in the Bible

Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes.

People with Zika virus disease can have symptoms including mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms normally last for 2-7 days.

There is scientific consensus that Zika virus is a cause of Microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Links to other neurological complications are also being investigated.

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a novel Coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

Typical MERS symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Pneumonia is common, but not always present. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea, have also been reported.

Approximately 36% of reported patients with MERS have died.

Although the majority of human cases of MERS have been attributed to human-to-human infections, camels are likely to be a major reservoir host for MERS-CoV and an animal source of MERS infection in humans. However, the exact role of camels in transmission of the virus and the exact route(s) of transmission are unknown.

The virus does not seem to pass easily from person to person unless there is close contact, such as occurs when providing unprotected care to a patient.

Avian influenza (AI), commonly called bird flu, is an infectious viral disease of birds.

Most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans; however some, such as A(H5N1) and A(H7N9), have caused serious infections in people.

Outbreaks of AI in poultry may raise global public health concerns due to their effect on poultry populations, their potential to cause serious disease in people, and their pandemic potential.

Reports of highly pathogenic AI epidemics in poultry, such as A(H5N1), can seriously impact local and global economies and international trade.

The majority of human cases of A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) infection have been associated with direct or indirect contact with infected live or dead poultry. There is no evidence that the disease can be spread to people through properly cooked food.

Controlling the disease in animals is the first step in decreasing risks to humans.

Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. It causes fever and severe joint pain. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash. Joint pain is often debilitating and can vary in duration. The disease shares some clinical signs with dengue, and can be misdiagnosed in areas where dengue is common. There is no cure for the disease. Treatment is focused on relieving the symptoms.

The proximity of mosquito breeding sites to human habitation is a significant risk factor for Chikungunya.

The disease occurs in Africa, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. In recent decades mosquito vectors of Chikungunya have spread to Europe and the Americas. In 2007, disease transmission was reported for the first time in a localized outbreak in north-eastern Italy. Outbreaks have since been recorded in France and Croatia.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral zoonosis that primarily affects animals but also has the capacity to infect humans. Infection can cause severe disease in both animals and humans. The disease also results in significant economic losses due to death and abortion among RVF-infected livestock.

RVF virus is a member of the Phlebovirus genus, one of the five genera in the family Bunyaviridae. The virus was first identified in 1931 during an investigation into an epidemic among sheep on a farm in the Rift Valley of Kenya.

Since then, outbreaks have been reported in sub-Saharan and North Africa. In 1997-98, a major outbreak occurred in Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania and in September 2000, RVF cases were confirmed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, marking the first reported occurrence of the disease outside the African continent and raising concerns that it could extend to other parts of Asia and Europe.

Enterohaemorrhagic E. Coli (EHEC) is a bacterium that can cause severe food borne disease.

Primary sources of EHEC outbreaks are raw or under-cooked ground meat products, raw milk and fecal contamination of vegetables.

In most cases, the illness is self-limiting, but it may lead to a life-threatening disease including Haemolytic Uraemic syndrome (HUS), especially in young children and the elderly.

EHEC is heat-sensitive. In preparing food at home, be sure to follow basic food hygiene practices such as "cook thoroughly."

Following the W.H.O. Five keys to safer food is a key measure to prevent infections with food borne pathogens such as EHEC.

Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. The "yellow" in the name refers to the jaundice that affects some patients.

Symptoms of yellow fever include fever, headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.

A small proportion of patients who contract the virus develop severe symptoms and approximately half of those die within 7 to 10 days.

The virus is endemic in tropical areas of Africa and Central and South America.

Since the launch of the Yellow Fever Initiative in 2006, significant progress in combating the disease has been made in West Africa and more than 105 million people have been vaccinated in mass campaigns. No outbreaks of yellow fever were reported in West Africa during 2015.

Large epidemics of yellow fever occur when infected people introduce the virus into heavily populated areas with high mosquito density and where most people have little or no immunity, due to lack of vaccination. In these conditions, infected mosquitoes transmit the virus from person to person.

Yellow fever is prevented by an extremely effective vaccine, which is safe and affordable. A single dose of yellow fever vaccine is sufficient to confer sustained immunity and life-long protection against yellow fever disease and a booster dose of the vaccine is not needed. The vaccine provides effective immunity within 30 days for 99% of persons vaccinated.

Good supportive treatment in hospitals improves survival rates. There is currently no specific anti-viral drug for yellow fever.

Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic illness of 2-21 days duration that occurs in West Africa.

The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or feces.

Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevent and control measures.

Lassa fever is known to be endemic in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria, but probably exists in other West African countries as well.

The overall case-fatality rate is 1%. Observed case-fatality rate among patients hospitalized with severe cases of Lassa fever is 15%.

Early supportive care with re-hydration and symptomatic treatment improves survival.

Oropouche fever is caused by the Oropouche virus. In humans, it is transmitted primarily through the bite of the Culicoides Paraensis midge. No direct transmission of the virus from human to human has been documented.

Oropouche fever causes symptoms similar to those of dengue with an incubation period of 4-8 days (range: 3-12 days). Symptoms include the sudden onset of high fever, headache, myalgia, joint pain, and vomiting. In some patients it can cause clinical symptoms of aseptic meningitis.

In the Americas, outbreaks of Oropouche fever virus have been reported from rural and urban communities of Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Salmonellosis, is one of the most common and widely distributed food borne diseases, with tens of millions of human cases occurring worldwide every year.

Most cases of Salmonellosis are mild, however, sometimes people die from Salmonellosis. The severity of the disease may depend on host factors and the strain of salmonella.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, salmonella strains which are resistant to a range of antimicrobials have emerged and are now a serious public health concern.

Basic food hygiene practices, such as "cook thoroughly," is recommended as a preventive measure against Salmonellosis.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated.

Researchers have estimated that there are 1.4 to 4.3 million cases, and 28,000 to 142,000 deaths worldwide1 due to cholera every year.

Up to 80% of cases can be successfully treated with oral re-hydration salts.

Provision of safe water and sanitation is critical to control cholera and other waterborne diseases.

Oral cholera vaccines are an additional way to control cholera, but should not replace conventional control measures.

Although Elizabethkingia Anophelis is commonly found in the environment, particularly in soil and water, it rarely causes illness in humans. A few small, localized outbreaks were reported before, usually in healthcare settings. The 2016 outbreak in the United States is the largest known outbreak of Elizabethkingia on record. Since the transmission route of the bacteria remains unknown and bacteria primarily infects people with serious underlying health conditions further cases can be expected.

Most cases are over the age of 65 years and all have serious underlying health conditions. It has not yet been determined whether the deaths associated with this outbreak were caused by the bacterial infection, the patients' comorbidities, or both.

Many potential sources of the bacteria have been assessed, including water sources, health care facilities, medications and personal care products, though no common source has been identified to date. Investigations are ongoing.

Microcephaly is a condition where a baby is born with a small head or the head stops growing after birth.

Microcephaly is a rare condition. One baby in several thousand is born with microcephaly.

The most reliable way to assess whether a baby has microcephaly is to measure head circumference 24 hours after birth, compare the value with WHO growth standards, and continue to measure the rate of head growth in early infancy.

Babies born with microcephaly may develop convulsions and suffer physical and learning disabilities as they grow older.

There are no specific tests to determine if a baby will be born with microcephaly, but ultrasound scans in the third trimester of pregnancy can sometimes identify the problem.

There is no specific treatment for microcephaly.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare condition in which a person's immune system attacks their peripheral nerves.

People of all ages can be affected, but it is more common in adults and in males.

Most people recover fully from even the most severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome are rare, but can result in near-total paralysis.

People with Guillain-Barré syndrome should be treated and monitored; some may need intensive care. Treatment includes supportive care and some immunological therapies.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection.

The infection causes flu-like illness, and occasionally develops into a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue.

The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. About half of the world's population is now at risk.

Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.

Severe dengue is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children in some Asian and Latin American countries.

There is no specific treatment for dengue/ severe dengue, but early detection and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates below 1%.

Dengue prevention and control depends on effective vector control measures.

A dengue vaccine has been licensed by several National Regulatory Authorities for use in people 9-45 years of age living in endemic settings.

Polio (Poliomyelitis) mainly affects children under 5 years of age.

1 in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis. Among those paralyzed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.

Polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350 000 cases then, to 74 reported cases in 2015. The reduction is the result of the global effort to eradicate the disease.

As long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio. Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200,000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world.

In most countries, the global effort has expanded capacities to tackle other infectious diseases by building effective surveillance and immunization systems.