Outbreak: Eight of the Biggest Global Health Scares

A look at diseases that have recently spread over the world.

Liberia Looks to Track Down Those Infected With Ebola - Liberia is looking to track down 17 individuals who are infected with Ebola and escaped a quarantined area on Monday. The police were given protective gear to prevent themselves from being infected by the disease. "We are very, very concerned about the situation," Information Minister Lewis Brown said, according to Reuters.  (Photo: CELLOU BINANI/AFP/Getty Images)

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Outbreak: 2014 - The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa is wreaking havoc in the region and causing hundreds of deaths. The world is on high alert for the spread of the disease, and in the United States, Emory Healthcare will soon treat a patient infected with the virus in a unit "physically separated" from other patients. This isn't the first time the world has faced an epidemic in recent years. BET.com takes a look at other historic disease outbreaks. (Photo: CELLOU BINANI/AFP/Getty Images)

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Ebola - Ebola originated in the Sudan in 1976. It infected about 280 people when it first appeared. Ebola is deadly and is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of humans and animals. After the initial symptoms of “fever, headaches, joint, and muscle pain,” the virus can cause vomiting, diarrhea and bleeding from the nose, eyes and mouth before death if left untreated. The most recent case of the Ebola outbreak has occurred in West Africa and is the largest outbreak on record. (Photo: AP Photo/WHO, Christopher Black, HO, File) 

Cholera - Cholera continues to be an issue around the world in the 21st century, though it began in the Soho area of London in the 1800s. A surgeon named Dr. John Snow realized the disease was spread through contaminated water. Today, there are still three to five million cholera cases every year. In 2010, Haiti suffered a Cholera outbreak months after a catastrophic earthquack rocked the island. (Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

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Cholera - Cholera continues to be an issue around the world in the 21st century, though it began in the Soho area of London in the 1800s. A surgeon named Dr. John Snow realized the disease was spread through contaminated water. Today, there are still three to five million cholera cases every year. In 2010, Haiti suffered a Cholera outbreak months after a catastrophic earthquack rocked the island. (Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome - The MERS viral respiratory disease appeared in 2012 with confirmed cases in the Arabian Penninsula and is spread through close contact. In May 2014, two cases of MERS reached the United States after sick individuals entered the country. The virus also traveled to areas of Europe, Asia and Africa. Thirty percent of MERS vicitms have died. (Photo: Courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin Library)

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Middle East Respiratory Syndrome - The MERS viral respiratory disease appeared in 2012 with confirmed cases in the Arabian Penninsula and is spread through close contact. In May 2014, two cases of MERS reached the United States after sick individuals entered the country. The virus also traveled to areas of Europe, Asia and Africa. Thirty percent of MERS vicitms have died. (Photo: Courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin Library)

THe H1N1 Virus ("Swine" Flu) - Swine Flu posed a public health emergency in 2009 and became a global pandemic in 2010. Its symptoms are similar to the seasonal flu. It got its name because of its similarity to the virus found in pigs, but it's not transmitted through consuming "properly handled or cooked pork or pork products." Now, it has been downgraded to a regular seasonal flu virus. (Photo: Joern Pollex/Getty Images)

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THe H1N1 Virus ("Swine" Flu) - Swine Flu posed a public health emergency in 2009 and became a global pandemic in 2010. Its symptoms are similar to the seasonal flu. It got its name because of its similarity to the virus found in pigs, but it's not transmitted through consuming "properly handled or cooked pork or pork products." Now, it has been downgraded to a regular seasonal flu virus. (Photo: Joern Pollex/Getty Images)

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HIV/AIDS - HIV is the virus that leads to AIDS and has existed in the United States since the 1970s and still remains a serious issue. There isn't a cure yet for the virus, but thanks to antiretroviral therapy, patients can live with HIV for much longer than they had in the past. (Photo: Vincenzo Lombardo/Getty Images)

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HIV/AIDS - HIV is the virus that leads to AIDS and has existed in the United States since the 1970s and still remains a serious issue. There isn't a cure yet for the virus, but thanks to antiretroviral therapy, patients can live with HIV for much longer than they had in the past. (Photo: Vincenzo Lombardo/Getty Images)

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The West Nile Virus - Humans are most likely to catch the West Nile Virus from mosquitos, and it can cause inflamation of the brain or meningitis. Most infected people don't develop symptoms while others will develop fever, body pain and other issues. (Photo: Paul Bertner/Getty Images)

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - SARS first appeared in Asia in 2003 and spread around the world before it was stopped. SARS is a viral respiratory illness. Though there haven't been any recent cases of SARS, the virus was declared a "select agent" in 2012. A select agent is "a bacterium, virus or toxin that has the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety." (Photo: Christian Keenan/Getty Images)

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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - SARS first appeared in Asia in 2003 and spread around the world before it was stopped. SARS is a viral respiratory illness. Though there haven't been any recent cases of SARS, the virus was declared a "select agent" in 2012. A select agent is "a bacterium, virus or toxin that has the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety." (Photo: Christian Keenan/Getty Images)

The Bubonic Plague - The Bubonic Plague, also known as The Black Death, hit Europe in the 14th century. The mark of this life-threatening disease was painful “black boils that oozed blood and pus.” Twenty million people died during the outbreak. The plague pretty much died out, but it reappears every once in a while. One of the most recent cases happened in China and the victim died on July 16, 2014. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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The Bubonic Plague - The Bubonic Plague, also known as The Black Death, hit Europe in the 14th century. The mark of this life-threatening disease was painful “black boils that oozed blood and pus.” Twenty million people died during the outbreak. The plague pretty much died out, but it reappears every once in a while. One of the most recent cases happened in China and the victim died on July 16, 2014. (Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)