Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

From the plague to tomato flu – the unusual illnesses to be aware of if you’re travelling this summer

Post Thumbnail

Scots are being urged to be aware of unusual infectious illnesses they could encounter on their travels this summer.

Travel was one of the ways Covid and monkeypox have spread around the world.

And tomato flu, haemorrhagic fever and even the bubonic plague are currently in circulation.

But what are these diseases? Where can you catch them? And are you really likely to catch the plague on your summer travels?

We spoke to Professor Neil Mabbott, personal chair of immunopathology at Edinburgh University, to find out more.

Tomato flu

Authorities in India are on high alert after a tomato flu outbreak. More than 80 cases have been reported in children in India since May 6.

The disease gets its name because of the tomato-like red blisters it causes – similar to monkeypox. It mainly affects children under the age of five.

The illness can also cause tiredness, joint pain, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, high fever, and body ache.

It is not entirely known what causes tomato flu, but some think it is a viral infection.

Others believe it to be an after-effect of diseases such as chikungunya or dengue fever – both of which are caused by mosquito bites.

Haemorrhagic fever

In Iraq, authorities are dealing with a deadly outbreak of haemorrhagic fever, which has killed at least 18 people this year so far.

It is a tick-borne virus which causes fever, muscle aches and abdominal pain.

However, when it develops, it leads to bleeding from the eyes, ears, and nose, as well as failure in the body’s organs.

The bubonic plague

We’ve all heard of the plague from the history books, when it caused one of the most deadly pandemics the world has ever seen.

But did you know it still affects parts of the world today?

A rise of cases is currently being seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is also endemic in Madagascar and Peru.

Humans usually get plague after being bitten by a rodent flea carrying the plague bacterium.

Millions of people have been killed by the plague throughout history.

Symptoms include fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock, and possibly bleeding into the skin and other organs.

Skin and other tissues may turn black and die, especially on fingers, toes, and the nose.

Today, modern antibiotics are effective in treating the plague, but without prompt treatment, the disease still kills.

Am I going to catch these on my summer holiday?

If your travel destination doesn’t have an active outbreak of an infectious disease, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about.

But there are still concerns about how travel this summer could affect the spread of viruses and other illnesses.

According to Prof Mabbott: “For the majority of the travelling public, the risk of catching a novel infectious disease during their summer holiday remains very low.

Professor Neil Mabbott.

“That said, countries around the globe need to work together and learn the lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Diseases that can spread from animals to people are known as zoonotic diseases.

“Unfortunately, it is highly likely that there will be another pandemic due to the spillover of an infectious zoonotic disease from wildlife to humans.

“But predicting when and where this will occur is very difficult. This could happen in a decade or so, or much earlier.”

So, while you’re unlikely to pick up one of these diseases on your travels, it’s important to remain vigilant, maintain good hygiene and stick to the health advice in your destination country.

Health advice for your holiday country can he found on the UK Government website.

Conversation