When polio vaccines were first developed, many experts thought the disease would be fully eradicated within decades. Tragically, as this film shows, it has survived in places like Afghanistan and northern Nigeria. These locations are now acting as disease reservoirs, with children the hardest-hit demographic and with travelers re-infecting other countries once thought invulnerable. Additionally, in the pre-vaccine world, everyone had a degree of natural...

Throughout history, more people have died in disease epidemics than in wars or other disasters. The scientists who first defended us against these diseases faced a terrifying personal gamble. Often they were ignored, laughed at, or even fired from their jobs. But they kept hunting for answers, putting the pieces fo the epidemic puzzle together. As they looked for clues to the origin of diseases such as yellow fever, typhoid, plague, and other deadly...

Sleeping Sickness is the deadliest disease in the world. The Democratic Republic of Congo suffers more cases than any other country. Without treatment, parasites called trypanosomes invade the victim’s brain, ravage their sleep cycle, driving them mad before finally killing them. But dedicated doctors and medics are fighting back. We tell the stories of those who have lost family to the disease and of the lucky ones who have survived this deadly...

So what's the difference between cold and flu? I'm Dr. Alan Greene, and I want to help you figure out what the difference is. Most people have a general idea that they are different, but when pressed have a hard time really saying what the difference is. The cold, the common cold, is something very common you usually get on average three or more times during a year. And it is a virus that's primarily in the nose. The three main symptoms of a cold...

Sneezing, sore throat, a stuffy nose, coughing: everyone knows the symptoms of the common cold. It is probably the most common illness. In the course of a year, people in the United States suffer 1 billion colds.

When Dr. James Oleske insisted babies in Newark were getting the new and unknown disease then appearing in gay men and drug users in the ‘80s, every established authority told him that he was crazy. Forming a powerful alliance with the poor mothers and grandmothers of Newark, Oleske never stopped fighting. His brilliant work ultimately ended the pediatric AIDS epidemic in America.

How do you stop a contagious killer microbe? Scientists around the globe are racing to uncover the secrets of the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic--and using revolutionary techniques to develop lifesaving treatments and vaccines.

Potentially deadly, TB is an insidious disease that has been present in humans for at least 10,000 years. In this video segment, find out about a particularly deadly strain of the disease we are facing now. This strain is extremely resistant to current drugs. Hear from experts who are trying to develop ways to deal with this resurgence.

Flu is a respiratory infection caused by a number of viruses. The viruses pass through the air and enter your body through your nose or mouth. Between 5 percent and 20 percent of people in the U.S. get the flu each year. The flu can be serious or even deadly for elderly people, newborn babies, and people with certain chronic illnesses. Symptoms of the flu come on suddenly and are worse than those of the common cold.