Rickettsia Infection

The bacteria, Ricketsia, is a unusual form of bacteria. Not only, can this bacteria metastasize into several different infections, but the only way it can survive is inside of a host (eg. human body or animal body).

1. Rickettsia Infection can be the culprit for several diseases, such as, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or the Q Fever. Each one of these infections is defined by its own set of characteristics, but each attempts to accomplish the same task; survival.

2. The Ricketts Infection, enters the cell lining blood vessels, causing the vessels to become inflamed or swollen or bleed into the tissue. During this situation, each body reacts in a variety of ways; and because of that, every individual experiences different symptoms.

3. Humans normally contract the Ricketts Infection through a bite from an infected dust mite, lice, fleas or ticks. Once an individual has contracted the infection, it is important to immediately see a doctor, because it is extremely contagious.

4. Initially, the Rickettsia Infection will cause their hosts to suffer a fever, headache, rashes, or malaise. If the individual does not immediately care these symptoms an individual can develop a cough, difficulty breathing, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. In rare, but severe cases of the infection, the liver or spleen enlarges, the kidneys fail, and blood pressure falls dangerously low.

5. Since the Ricketts Infection is bacterial an individual can rid any signs of illness with a doctor presribed antibiotic. Occasionally, if this method does not work, an individual might have to receive a vaccination.

Yellow Fever

“Sleep tight; don’t let the bed bugs bite!” Seriously, if your bed happens to be South American or African region; do not let them bite! An infected mosquito can inject an individual with the West Nile Virus, Malaria, and the most severe, lesser known, Yellow Fever. Each year, Yellow Fever infects an estimated 200,000, and kills over 30,000.

1. Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. The reason it is called “yellow fever” is because the yellow effect some people experience during the symptom of jaundice.

2. The infection, incubates in the body for up to 6 days, which is closely followed by two phases of symptoms. The first stage, attacks an individuals body internally. The most toxic phase, or the 2nd phase is only experienced by 15% of people. During this period, an individual’s symptoms evolve from an internal stage to an external.

3. This virus is an arbovirus of the flavivirus genus. The primary carrier of this genus is the mosquito. This virus can travel from host to host through a bite or contact; primarily between monkeys and humans.

4. Yellow fever symptoms take place in two separate stages. In the initial phase, patients will suffer a fever, muscle pain, back aches, head aches, shivers, loss of appetite and vomiting. The symptoms of the first phase mainly disappear within 3 to 4 days, for all but, 15% of the patients. These unlucky 15%, experience the most violent stage, or the 2nd phase. This stage is most notably known for patients acquiring severe jaundice, along with bleeding from any orifice.

5. Unfortunately there is no specific treatment for yellow fever. A hospital can only truly attempt to deal with the symptoms and not the actual disease, itself

Tetanus

What if I told you; the soil beneath your feet, contains a bacteria that lives up to 40 years, and if contracted has a 30% of killing you…Clostridium tetani, more commonly known as tetanus; is a microscopic bacterial spore, which lives in the environment.

1. The tetanus toxin, tetanospasmin, ranks as one of the most potent microbial poison. This toxin takes the shape of bacterial spores which live within the environment around us. These spores live of the diverse elements of soil, animal excrement, house dust, operating rooms, contaminated heroin, and the human colon.

2. Once the tetanus poison, enters the body it will penetrate the outer and inner nerves of the spine. After an estimated 8 days, the relaxation of the individual’s muscles will become blocked, due to a short circuit of the nerves.

3. Tetanus can enter the body in a variety of ways; animal or insect bits, surgical wounds, the site of needle injections, burns, splinters, lesions, abrasions, ulcers, infected umbilical cords, and of course from rusty intimate objects.

4. Any individual that contracts tetanus will experience anything from spasms in the jaw, hand, arms, legs, and back. Each one of these spasms are precipitated, or brought on, by a severe noise or touch. In more intense forms of tetanus individuals will lose the ability to breathe, or even die.

5. If an individual believes, he/she may have contracted tetanus, they should rush to a hospital immediately. Upon the visit, an individual will receive two forms of medication; a medicine to eliminate the toxin and a medicine to suppress the spasms.

Meningitis

Last year, 850 United States citizens woke up with a slightly stiff neck and the hint of a headache. A day or so later, they contracted a fever. Four days later, the individual is experiencing insensate vomiting and even the occasional seizure. Two weeks, after all the symptoms began; they are dead. This is the haunting journey of meningitis; a disease which claims over 200,000 deaths a year.

1. Meningitis is fast acting infection, which mainly affects children and individuals with a weak immune system. There are two separate kinds of meningitis; viral and bacterial. Viral meningitis is actually quite common. Although in rare cases, it has caused fevers and seizures, it is not a serious illness. Bacterial meningitis, on the other hand, is an extremely serious disease. If not immediately treated, the disease can cause brain damage, and death.

2. The disease, Meningitis, is an inflammation in lining of the spine and the brain.

3. The bacteria surrounding the cause of bacterial meningitis are very common. Each bacteria, can be naturally be found in the nose and throat, in mainly young adults and children. The Meningitis bacteria is spread through coughing, sneezing, and kissing. It is extremely rare that the bacteria actually becomes viral; damaging the immune system.

4. Initially, the symptoms of meningitis will be directly correlated to the inflammation (eg. stiff neck or headaches). Eventually the individual will begin to experience vomiting, and even seizures.

5. If you or a loved one begins to experience symptoms of meningitis, make sure to contact a doctor immediately. Depending on whether the patient is a child or an adult, the doctor will prescribe a different injection. The meningitis C is the vaccination for children, and the pneumococcal vaccin, for adults.

Shingles

Try and think for a moment on when you got chicken pox. Remember how annoying it was to have that constant itch? Even better, remember how relieving it was to wake up with all of your symptoms erased? Well, what if I told you that while your chicken pox lie dormant, another infection was lurking in the shadows? That is right…Herpes Zoster, a.k.a. Shingles.

1. Once the virus of chicken pox subsides, it lies dormant within your nerve roots. The virus “awakes” when an individual experiences severe stress, disease, or aging weaken the immune system.

2. The Shingles infection is a systematic stage of symptoms. At first an individual’s nerve endings will be attacked, sending off mixed messages throughout the body. Due to this messages, the skin will create non-existent irritations, developing rashes and blisters. Finally, and individual’s nervous system will create an imbalance within the senses.

3. Although shingles is not contagious, an infected individual can spread chicken pox to another person.

4.  Herpes Zoster is an onset symptoms, which effects the individuals in stages. Initially, an individual will experience headaches, tingling skin, and irritable rashes. If the symptoms go with out the proper care, an individual can suffer from widespread rashes and extreme dizziness.

5. The sooner an individual contacts a doctor, the better. There is no prospective cure for shingles, but there are medicines that will eliminate all of the symptoms.

Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases can be a scary thing.  The pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and prions, are invisible to the human eye.  These invisible pathogens can cause debilitating diseases that can change one’s life forever.  Some infectious diseases are highly contagious and are, fittingly, also known as contagious diseases.  Infectious diseases may be contagious through liquids, body fluids, or airborne inhalation.  In other words, daily life.

As you can see, it is not very difficult to be frightened of contracting an infectious disease.  One can take measures to reduce their chance of contracting an infectious disease, such as washing your hands constantly, but at times you may not be able to avoid it.  Infectious diseases can cause a significant amount of stress for those who contract them.  While some are easily cured or prevented through vaccines or medication, some infectious diseases are relatively easy to contract and incurable.

The public is often easily scared when information is released about a deadly infectious disease.  Whether the infectious disease is actually a threat to their life or not, the public opinion is usually that of panic.  Historically, there have been a number of infamous infectious diseases that have made a significant impact on the world, and at times caused severe panic among the public.  Here are the 5 most infamous infectious diseases from around the world:

1.  Polio

As with many infectious diseases, polio became an epidemic due to increased population density.  Polio attacks the nervous system, leaving some victims paralyzed for life.  In the 1950s, there were over 13,000 cases of polio resulting in paralysis, along with 1,000 deaths each year.  Thankfully, this infectious disease is no longer a problem due to vaccinations.  However, in some poor countries, polio remains a problem.

2.  Leprosy

Lepers suffer from skin lesions that turn into dying flesh, eventually leading to the possibility of losing limbs, if untreated.  The infectious disease is spread by a bacterium named Mycobacterium leprae that affects the peripheral nerves, causing numbness to pain and temperature.  It is not highly infected, but has been stigmatized since biblical times.  Fortunately, it is easily treated today.

3.  Mad-Cow Disease

The swine-flu scare of the 1990s, Mad-cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is an illness caused by prions from cows.  Mad-cow disease is spread through contaminated meat of cows suffering from the infectious disease.  It causes degenerative neurological symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s, including dementia, loss of body control, and death.

4.  Rabies

As a kid, it was not uncommon to hear a classmate shout “That squirrel has rabies!  Look how close it is to us!”  Rabies has always affected animals, causing a foaming at the mouth, anger, hostility, and insanity.  The infectious disease, before Pasteur’s vaccine in 1885, attacked the nervous system and brain of humans.  It is spread through the saliva of infected animals.  It is extremely rare to find a case of rabies today, due to vaccinations.  The problem, then, is that rabies is hard to diagnose, extremely deadly, and very quick acting.

5.  HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS is the ultimate infectious disease of our time.  HIV may take years to develop into AIDS, but when it does, it is devastating.  This particular infectious disease attacks the cells in the immune system, causing other infections to feed freely on the host’s body.  Without your immune system, common infections or other infectious diseases that are usually fought off become deadly, and often times, fatal.