Looking for Dengue Fever? We can help you find it.

In the last 30 days, there have been 11 reported cases of African Swine Fever. Where, you ask? If you guessed Africa, you'd only be partially correct. Turns out there's also been an outbreak of ASF in Russia, most likely entering from the Georgian port city of Poti. How on Earth would I know this? HealthMap.org.

This is one of the coolest (and most frightening) websites I have ever run across. The International Society for Infectious Diseases maintains the site. (Does it worry you that it is the Society FOR Infectious Diseases? Sounds like a front company for a Bond villain.) Click on Dengue Fever (my favorite of the mosquito-borne illnesses), they'll show you 22 spots on the globe where 36 cases have been reported in the past 30 days. Now, none of those were in the US. And if you put those numbers in perspective against the total world population (about 6.7 Billion people) it doesn't seem so scary. Turns out our risk of contracting is, like, zilch.

However, if you were planning a trip to Panama for a mission trip, wouldn't you want to know about the recent case of Hantavirus? Going to Laos? Beware the Anthrax-infected goats.

I certainly hope this site won't scare anyone off an exciting international adventure... but it's nice to be armed with knowledge. And, of course, doesn't hurt to be armed with your Air Ambulance Card. If you wind up in Zambia with a roaring case of Lassa Fever (you'll know from the diarrhea and the morbiliform rash on your face and trunk), do you want to be flown to South Africa for treatment, or home to your own doctor and hospital?