foul smelling mucous?

My brother visited a third world country.  Ever since his return I have noticed that he clears his throat a lot.  In addition whenever he wakes up in the morning, there is a foul smell in the air and everyone in the house begins clearing their throat and blowing their nose.  I have even experienced a burning sensation in my lungs when this occurs.  Lastly, whenever he blows his nose, his nasal discharge has an extremely foul ordor.  What does all this mean?  Is it contagious?

[Sunny602]

If anything, your brother should visit a doctor to see what the source of this foul smelling discharge is. It could be an infection in his sinuses or even in his lungs..Bacterial infections tend to have a foul odor to them at times. I am just throwing out some examples, I am not a doctor. Only his doc can determine what the cause is after tests which might include culturing the discharge, xrays , even a CT scan depending on what he or she finds on examination.
I hope that you find answers soon, once the mystery of your brother's foul smelling discharge is solved, you will have answers as to if it is contagious or not.
Sunny