According to experts, almost a third of European city dwellers are exposed to excessive concentrations of airborne particulate matter (PM). PM is especially dangerous to human health as it affects the sensitive areas of the respiratory tract. Continue reading Air pollution in Europe reduces life expectancy by 2 years →

SARS – the potentially deadly respiratory infection that was a huge global news story almost a decade ago – might be back writes John Miller of the Healthy Travel Blog

Global health officials are keeping their eyes on a SARS-related virus, Coronavirus, that appears to have originated in the Saudi Arabia and has now spread to London. Continue reading The Return of SARS →

As of 24 September 2012, 51 cases (19 laboratory confirmed, 32 probable) with Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Of these, 20 have been fatal (7 confirmed, 13 probable). Continue reading Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo – update →

The National Park Service Office of Public Health (NPS) has reported six cases of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) among visitors to Yosemite National Park in California, United States of America. Two of the six cases died reports the World Health Organisation Continue reading Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome – Yosemite National Park, USA →

The Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to work with partners to control the outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever. As of 3 September 2012, a total of 28 (eight confirmed, six probable, and 14 suspected) cases including 14 deaths had been reported from Haut-Uélé district in Province Orientale. The reported cases and deaths have occurred in two health zones – 18 cases, including 11 deaths in Isiro and 10 cases, including three deaths in Viadana. The fatal cases in Isiro include three health-care workers. reports the WHO Continue reading Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo – update →

Brokerfish.com, one of the world’s leading international medical insurance comparison sites has produced an introductory video about ALC Health on their web site https://www.brokerfish.com/companies/alc-health. Continue reading BrokerFish launches ALC Health video →

The goal of Healthy Travel Blog is to help you stay healthy while gallivanting around the world; to take smart precautions and do proper travel preparation to avoid both the worry that something will go wrong and to make things easier if something does go wrong. But, inevitably, bones will break and muscles will get strained, and we hope that we’re providing you smart guidance on how to navigate these occurrences writes John Miller at www.healthytravelblog.com Continue reading Looking after your teeth abroad →

As of 20 August 2012, a total of 15 (13 probable and 2 confirmed) cases with 10 deaths have been reported in Province Orientale in Eastern DRC. The reported cases and deaths have occurred in 3 health zones as follows: 12 cases and 8 deaths in Isiro, including three (3) health care workers who have died; 2 cases and 1 death in Pawa; and 1 fatal case in Dungu reports the World Health Organisation. Continue reading Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo →

Since the beginning of the year, Sierra Leone has recorded 11 653 cases of cholera, with 216 deaths (Case Fatality Rate of 1.9%). The rate of new cases has accelerated rapidly since the beginning of August: since then, 5 706 cases have been recorded, and two new districts, Bonthe and Kono, have been affected by the epidemic. Ten of the country’s 13 districts are now registering cases and this spread emphasizes the need to rapidly scale up the response, reports the World Health Organisation. Continue reading Cholera in Sierra Leone →