The World Health Organisation for the first time ever has adviced on travel to a specific geographic region because of an outbreak of an infectious disease. This precedent makes me wonder on the complexity of new super bugs and also the controlling of new generation diseases which annually combat, become stronger and fight off medicine designed to kill it.
Known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), this disease has recently killed 59 people and affected more.
The BBC Health homepage have some interesting articles, links and resources which covers the SARS virus as the race continues to contain this deadly virus.
Another deadly respiratory virus is the strain of Avian Influenza A (H5N1), which affected Hong Kong in 1997.
Prior to 1997, influenza A (H5N1) had been found only in birds and during the 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong, transmission of the virus to people occurred primarily from direct contact with birds.
Interestingly, on other bugs news, Japan is the only place in the world to have a Parasite Museum (known as the Meguro Parasite Museum) displaying some of the largest tape worms around.
Here is some Advice for Australians travelling to the region on the Sars virus and a New Scientist article with other links