What is measles?

Measles can be a very serious disease - and children who have not been vaccinated are at risk.

What is measles?

Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease characterised by a high fever, a rash and generally feeling unwell.

The first symptoms include runny nose, sore eyes, a cough and fever.

Around the fourth day of the illness, a rash - flat red or brown blotches - may appear, usually starting on the forehead and spreading downwards.

There may also be diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

While this may be the full extent of the illness in many, resolving itself within two weeks of the first symptoms, other complications may arise in about one in 15 cases.

These include a severe cough and breathing difficulties, ear infections, pneumonia and eye infections.

In a very small number of cases, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) may follow. This is extremely dangerous, as 25% of those affected are left with brain damage.

From: BBC Health News

Read more here

Criticism of Meningitis vaccine delay

21 March 2015 Last updated at 08:58 GMT

The charity, Meningitis Now, say it's "deeply concerned" about a delay in introducing a vaccine for meningitis B.

A year ago, government advisers called for it to be made available on the NHS for babies across the UK - but price negotiations with the manufacturer, GSK, are continuing.

Adam Brimelow reports.

From: BBC News Health

Read more: here

JAB: British informal A hypodermic injection, especially a vaccination:
an anti-tetanus jab

Ebola

Ebola virus: What is it? Symptoms

English is.......!!!!

What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a larg...

Speaker 1.What’s the disadvantage he mentions?

Speaker 2. What are the disadvantages he mentions?

Speaker 3. What is , in his opinion, the main advantage? What two disadvantages does he mention?

Speaker 4.What’s the huge advantage cities have compared to rural areas?

Speaker 5.  What’s , according to this speaker, the main advantage?

How to talk about health problems

Have a look at some vocabulary and exercises by clicking on the image.

Not Making Your Bed May Be Healthier

Click on the image to listen.

Scientists in England believe that not tidying your bed after you wake up may be healthier for you. Their research suggests that the dust mites that live in our mattresses do not like messy and unmade beds. This could be good news for people with asthma. The research team, from Kingston University, said the tiny bugs could only survive in sheets and mattresses that were slightly damp – they live off the moisture and sweat from our bodies. If a bed is unmade, air circulates between the sheets and dries them out. Dry sheets means the creatures will die from dehydration – a lack of water. The researchers said that the average bed contained around 1.5 million mites. They are less than a millimetre long and they feed on the flakes of skin that fall from your body.

Lead researcher Dr Stephen Pretlove said his research could cut amount of money spent on treating illnesses that are caused by mites. We breathe in the waste produced by bed bugs or get bitten by them. These can lead to asthma and other health problems. The British health service currently spends over $1 billion a year treating illnesses caused by mites. Dr Pretlove believes his research could change the way our houses are designed. “Our findings could help building designers create healthy homes and healthcare workers point out environments most at risk from mites, he said. Allergy expert Professor Andrew Wardlaw agreed, saying: “It would be good if ways were found to modify the home so that mite [numbers] were reduced.

1.	suggests	a.	insects
2	messy	b.	cause
3.	bugs	c.	moves around
4.	slightly	d.	indicates
5.	circulates	e.	change
6.	cut	f.	presently
7.	lead to	g.	a little bit
8.	currently	h.	conclusions
9.	findings	i.	untidy
10.	modify	j.	reduce From: Breakingnewsenglish.com