Contagious redirects here. For the Isley Brothers song of that name, see Contagious (song).

A disease is an abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person. Sometimes the term is used broadly to include injuries, disabilities, syndromes, infections, symptoms, deviant behaviors, and atypical variations of structure and function, while in other contexts these may be considered distinguishable categories.

Pathology is the study of diseases. The subject of systematic classification of diseases is referred to as nosology. The broader body of knowledge about human diseases and their treatments is medicine. Many similar (and a few of the same) conditions or processes can affect animals (wild or domestic). The study of diseases affecting animals is veterinary medicine. Plants as well can suffer from a variety of processes such as infection, nutrient deficiency, or deleterious mutation. The study of diseases affecting plants is termed plant pathology.

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WHO news

New drug being tested in Africa for river blindness
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:00:00 -0000
1 July 2009 -- The clinical trial of a drug that could eliminate river blindness is being launched in three African countries. Also known as onchocerciasis, this disease is one of the leading infectious causes of blindness across Africa.
Working relationship between the Russian Federation and WHO strengthened
Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0000
26 June 2009 -- Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, today met Mr Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, during an official visit to the country. The visit has seen the strengthening of the working relationship between the Russian Federation and WHO.
Call to protect hospitals, schools from impact of disasters
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0000
18 June 2009 -- WHO and UNICEF today called on governments to strengthen risk reduction measures so that health and education systems are able to cope with disasters.
WHO welcomes sanofi-aventis's donation of vaccine
Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:15:00 -0000
17 June 2009 -- WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan has welcomed the announcement by sanofi-aventis to donate 100 million doses of vaccine against the pandemic H1N1 2009 virus.
Pedestrians, cyclists among main road traffic crash victims
Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:00:00 -0000
15 June 2009 -- The first global assessment of road safety finds that almost half of the estimated 1.27 million people who die in road traffic crashes every year are pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists. While progress has been made towards protecting people in cars, the needs of these vulnerable groups of road users are not being met.
Greater equity in health should be a progress indicator
Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:00:00 -0000
15 June 2009 -- Greater equity in the health status of populations, within and between countries, should be regarded as a key measure of how we are making progress, said WHO Director-eneral Dr Margaret Chan today, speaking at the UN Headquarters in New York.

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