Whilst it is inevitable that new infectious illnesses emerge all the time, mankind does its share to spread them more rapidly with its modern means of transport like the examples above teach us. But apart from that we have to prepare for known illnesses emerging in new populations because of the illness travelling itself. The African West Nile Virus is believed to have been spread nearly all over the world via an infected bird or mosquito entering the United States less than two decades ago. It mainly infects birds and kills them. It causes severe illness in humans, most patients however recover eventually.

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