The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is growing worse, says the World Health Organization. Last month, nearly forty new cases were reported over the course of four days.

The Ebola virus is a formidable killer, and it has now spread to a third African country. We should all be worried that the containment measures haven’t been as effective as was hoped.

America just got its first look at Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), after a patient who had recently traveled to Riyadh ended up in an Indiana hospital. The disease has a roughly 50 percent fatality rate, and it’s spreading to every corner of the world.

The World Health Organization reports on the alarming prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria around the world. Bacteria that lurk in hospitals are a particular threat, including one strain that causes pneumonia and blood infections.

Last week the MERS virus turned up in South Asia; now it’s in Greece. Airports are a country’s weak points: One infected traveler can infect people in a nation thousands of miles away.

More than 140 people have died of the virus so far in Africa, though the outbreak does not appear to have spread beyond Guinea and Liberia. While that’s mildly encouraging, in the age of globalization, a deadly virus can be only one airplane ride away from anyone on earth.

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome surfaces in South Asia. One man has died so far, another case been reported, and fears of a SARS-style panic may not be far behind.

A virus with a roughly 50 percent fatality rate has been surging in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in recent weeks. Scientists worry the region is one mutation away from a very scary outbreak.