Cold or Flu?

Your child is sent home from school with a sore throat, cough, and high fever — could it be the flu that's been going around? Or just a common cold? Although the flu (or influenza) usually causes symptoms that make someone feel worse than symptoms associated with a common cold, it's not always easy to tell the difference between the two. Symptoms Guide The answers to these questions can help determine whether a child is fighting the

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Yersiniosis

Yersiniosis is a relatively uncommon infection contracted through the consumption of undercooked meat products (especially pork), unpasteurized milk, or contaminated water. Usually, someone with an infection caused by Yersinia bacteria recovers within a few days without medical treatment (in some cases, doctors prescribe antibiotics). About Yersiniosis Of the three main types of yersiniosis that affect people, Yersinia enterocolitica

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Typhoid Fever

Typhoid fever is a serious and sometimes life-threatening infection that mostly affects people in developing countries, where clean water and other sanitation measures are hard to come by. The disease usually causes symptoms that include a high fever, a stomachache, and achiness. It can be cured with antibiotics. If you live in the U.S. the chances of someone in your family getting typhoid fever are slim. But if you're planning to

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Tapeworm

Tapeworms are flat worms that live in a person's digestive tract. Though upsetting to think about, they usually don't cause any serious problems. Tapeworm infections aren't common in the United States and, when they do happen, they're usually easy to treat. Tapeworm Basics Tapeworms are parasites. As you probably remember from biology class, parasites are organisms that live in, or on, other organisms (called "hosts"). Parasites take

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