Dr. Howard Markel, the author of When Germs Travel(1), talked about the history and present state of a variety of contagious diseases. In his book, he chronicles six epidemics or outbreaks that occurred in America over the last century: trachoma, bubonic plague, tuberculosis, AIDS, cholera, and typhus fever.
Markel outlined how these epidemics share a set of common features, which include panic (often fueled by media reports), quarantines and/or the closing down of ports, and the scapegoating of a certain group (such as immigrants) who are blamed for bringing in the disease.
Along with AIDS, tuberculosis remains one of the top health threats, he said, noting a 1996 case in which a TB-infected woman traveled on a long plane flight from Seoul to Baltimore, and 29 people sitting near her came down with the illness. Influenza is another worry, and the medical community keeps a constant vigil for deadly strains of the virus, such as the one that wiped out millions in 1918, he noted.

1. http://www.randomhouse.com/pantheon/catalog/display.pperl?0375420959

Germs Up Close

This array of microscopic images depicts the viruses and bacteria associated with a number of epidemics. The diseases are bubonic plague, cholera, Legionnaire's top row (l to r), and HIV, Ebola, and tuberculosis, bottom row (l to r).

Bumper Music

Bumper music from Wednesday May 19, 2004