Forget Swine Flu— 5 Pandemics to Fear

While the world panics over swine flu, many far more serious outbreaks lie in wait, reports Foreign Policy. Here are some you won’t see on TV—yet:  

• Cholera: The deadly diarrheal infection is rampant in Africa, with infections shooting up 96% in 2006. The current outbreak in Zimbabwe has killed 4,200 since August.
• Ebola: Unlikely to become a pandemic, but has an absolutely terrifying mortality rate.

• Spinal meningitis: This infection of brain and spinal fluid has killed 1,900 people in three countries this year, mostly in Nigeria.
• AIDS: China’s taken drastic measures to contain swine flu, but it’s done nearly nothing to stop AIDS, which killed 7,000 there in the first 9 months of last year.
• Dengue fever: The risk has shot up recently, with two-fifths of the world’s population now at risk. A recent outbreak has infected 50,000 Bolivians.

(More pandemic stories.)