Subscribe Now! National Geographic Magazine $15
Home
Animals
Daily News
Green Guide
History
Kids
Maps
Music
Photography
Science & Space
Travel & Cultures
Video
National Geographic Magazine
National Geographic Channel
Magazines
Shop
Subscriptions
TV & Film
Travel With Us
Our Mission
Visit our Online Shops
Books & Atlases
Clothing & Accessories
DVDs
Maps
Catalog Quick Shop

Sign up for free

Newsletters

Once a month
get new photos
and expert tips.

Sign up

More About Disease
Photo: AIDS patient injecting testosterone

AIDS

It's taken 20 million lives—and counting.

Get the Story
Photo: Chinese woman blowing cigarette smoke

Cancer

Can this killer be stopped?

Get the Facts
Photo: Nurses and flu patients in tents

Influenza

Are we due for a pandemic?

Find Out
Photo: Pieter Bruegel's "The Triumph of Death" painting

Plague

Could it strike again?

Get the Answers
Photo: Microscopic view of smallpox virus

Smallpox

It's wiped out civilizations.

Get the Facts
Photo: Mosquito nets in dormitory

Malaria

It begins with a bite.

Learn More

Did You Know?

Deadly Namesake

The plague bacteria Yersinia pestis is named after Swiss researcher Alexandre Yersin, who is credited with first isolating it in 1894 in the bodies of dead plague victims in Hong Kong.

More About Human Disease

News: Latest Disease Stories

Brain Region for Overcoming Fear, Anxiety Found
Brain's "Core" Revealed by First Hi-Res Wiring Map
VIDEO: Aussie Platypuses Suffer Illness
See More Disease News
RSS
What Is RSS?

Related Features
Photo: Testing a Thai farmer's ducks for bird flu

Article: Tracking the Next Killer Flu

In Southeast Asia a virus that kills chickens is now also killing people. And in those deaths, public health experts hear the distant rumbling of a global catastrophe.

Read More
Photo: Enlarged view of a female Anopheles mosquito

Article: Malaria—Bedlam in the Blood

Nearly half a billion people get malaria worldwide each year. More than a million die. After decades of neglect, the world is renewing its fight against the disease.

Read More
Photo: Patient receiving a shot

Quiz: Infectious Disease

See what can travel faster than a jumbo jet, wipe out entire civilizations, and confound the world's top researchers.

Take the Quiz

Health and Human Body Topics

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Photo: Caernarfon Castle in Wales

Photo Contest

Download a game widget and enter to win!
Photo: Isla Espiritu

Interactive Map

Find unusual vacation spots and journey through Mexico.

The Green Guide
Photo: Green flower

Get tips for helping the environment.

Visit The Green Guide

Support Conservation
Photo: Two penguins

Help conserve the world's natural resources.

Learn More

National Geographic Kids

Image: A cross-section of the human head

Play games, watch videos, and much more in this just-for-kids site.

Go Now