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Is garlic or citronella more useful in repelling insects? Which disease is typically identified as an 'urban' disease? What is the most reliable way to purify water? To celebrate the publication of the Oxford Handbook of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine test your knowledge of the unique dangers and diseases faced in travel medicine.

The post How much do you know about travel medicine? appeared first on OUPblog.

This summer intrepid travelers everywhere are strapping on backpacks, dousing themselves in mosquito spray, and getting their inoculations -- ready to embark on journeys that will take them into contact with some of the most virulent viruses and nastiest bacteria on the planet. Even those of us who aren’t going off the beaten track may end up in close quarters with microbes we’d rather not befriend. Explore some of the most common infectious diseases around the globe and how to identify them in this infographic.

The post Common infectious diseases contracted by travellers worldwide [infographic] appeared first on OUPblog.

That sounds so wrong, doesn't it?

But I was, this past weekend.

Not the baseball kind-- the animal kind. (Ahh, the imprecision of language!)

Early Sunday morning I was half asleep and vaguely aware of the cats racing and clunking around the house. Probably chasing a mouse, I thought. A usual occurrence in our old house. But when one of the cats barreled up the staircase onto my bed in hot pursuit of said "mouse" I thought... "Damn cat! There'll be no mice in this bed!" And bolted upright...

... only to be smacked in the face with the creature she was chasing. It was no mouse! It swooped back and forth and around a few times before hubby managed to whoosh it toward the bathroom with a towel and slam the door.

It was a bat.

Bad news-- bats can carry rabies.

And I had a nifty little scratch down my cheek.

Good news-- we'd all had the complete set of rabies vaccine about 3 or 4 years ago after a similar incident of bat-in-house. (Even though we were sure no one had come in contact with it, but our family doctor had said-- "Get thyselves to the emergency room this instant." They take it seriously. Rabies has a 100% fatality rate. Would you take a chance?)

Good news-- Hubby caught the bat and we've sent it off to be tested.

Bad news-- They have to kill it in order to do that. I actually feel badly for him. I like bats!

Pain-in-the-Neck news-- I spent 3 hours in the ER only for them to tell me they'd wait to hear the results before giving me booster shots, since I already supposedly have some protection. (Though nobody seems to know how long the vaccine is good for...)

Good news-- We'll hear the results in a day or two. And the shots really aren't too bad if we have to get them. Unlike the old days, when they gave them in the stomach. (Ack!)

Let's just hope everybody knows what they're doing...

Here's a not-so-great shot of the little critter: