Water Borne Diseases
Water borne diseases are caused by drinking water which is contaminated. The main causes of contamination are human and animal waste as well as disease-causing microorganisms. These diseases can easily be treated in case they are diagnosed early enough. One should go for regular check-ups in case they are often exposed to contaminated drinking water.
Some water-borne diseases like cholera are known to have existed for a very long time. Others are very new and few people have heard or suffered from them. In the case of new diseases, it is important that diagnosis be carried out first before treatment can be done.
Water borne diseases outbreaks occur when there is a lot of contaminated water in the wrong places. It is important for one to understand the ecology of water-borne diseases in order to understand their transmission, cure and prevention measures.
The situation in developing countries is worth mentioning when it comes to water-borne diseases. Four fifths of all diseases that are reported in these countries are water-borne. In fact, diarrhea is the single leading cause of death among children in these countries.
The main reason why people suffer from these diseases is lack of clean, reliable water for drinking and cooking. Poor sanitation is a problem to 1.1 billion people in the world, who have no access to reliable water supply.
It is also important for people all over the world to understand how water-borne diseases are transmitted. In case the problem of water-borne diseases is to be overcome, pollution of water systems must be prevented at all costs. Drinking water must be kept clean all the time. Infected people must be taken care of in a hygienic manner in order to prevent transmission to a wide section of the population.
When septic tanks burst, it can cause a catastrophe, and a large section of the neighboring population might end up getting infected. This is why sewer treatment plants should be located away from residential areas. Manufacturing plants that throw waste into rivers are a major cause of water-borne diseases.
Outbreaks of water-borne diseases can be very dynamic. You always have to be vigilant especially if you live in an area where typhoid and cholera outbreaks are frequently reported. You should refrain from buying food that has been cooked in unhygienic conditions. It takes little effort to ensure that the water that you are drinking is clean and free from any disease-causing microorganisms. If you suspect to have been infected, it is good to go for a medical examination.
Showing posts with label infectious diseases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label infectious diseases. Show all posts
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Reportable Communicable Diseases
Reportable Communicable Diseases
Reportable diseases are known as Notifiable diseases in Medical terms. There are many diseases which are highly infectious in nature. These diseases spread rapidly from person to person, and can affect a large amount of population within a short period of time.
The resulting phenomenon is called as an Epidemic, when a large amount of population is affected, but the population is limited only to a specific area, or part of a specific country, or within a specific country
When the disease spreads very rapidly, taking down population from one country to another, it is called as a Pandemic. The disease usually spreads through travelers or even goods being exchanged between different countries.
Both these Pandemics and epidemics are required by every government in every country, to be reported to the relevant medical regulatory authority of the said country.
Every country has a different list of Reportable communicable diseases, simply because some diseases are more prevalent in certain countries, and other countries may have some other diseases which are highly prevalent in their locality.
The reporting or notification is done by the regional medical centre, to the regulatory medical body.
There are certain diseases which require to be reported or notified even if there is only a single case of that disease diagnosed.
Examples are Cholera, diphtheria, smallpox, etc.
Whereas certain diseases are notified only after there are an increasing number of cases of that specific disease, being diagnosed within a short interval, say, within 1 to 3o days.
Once any disease, be it a Pandemic or an Epidemic disease is reported or notified to the government regulatory medical body, the patients are kept in isolation, in government hospitals and medical centers. The patient is monitored while in treatment, and discharged from the hospital only after the necessary remedial measures have been completed and the infective period is completely over.
The significance of the Notifiable diseases is that, WHO, or the World Health Organization can impose travel and trade restrictions between countries, in the wake of Pandemics.
The notifiable or reportable communicable diseases, which are common to most of the countries are Cholera, Yellow fever, Anthrax, Leptospirosis, H1N1, Plague, AIDS, Botulism, Brucellosis, Diphtheria, Q-Fever, Malaria, Rabies, Chancroid,Pertussis, Smallpox, Leprosy, Syphilis, Poliomyelitis, Influenza( laboratory confirmed), Legionellosis, Rubella, Hepatitis, Invasive Meningococcal disease, Tuberculosis, Tularemia, Avian Influenza(bird flu), Hydatid disease, Yersinosis, Tetanus, Rickettsial diseases, Hepatitis C, Typhoid, Paratyphoid, Mumps, Cryptosporidiosis, Giardiasis, Coccidioidomycosis, Ehrlichiosis etc
Reportable diseases are known as Notifiable diseases in Medical terms. There are many diseases which are highly infectious in nature. These diseases spread rapidly from person to person, and can affect a large amount of population within a short period of time.
The resulting phenomenon is called as an Epidemic, when a large amount of population is affected, but the population is limited only to a specific area, or part of a specific country, or within a specific country
When the disease spreads very rapidly, taking down population from one country to another, it is called as a Pandemic. The disease usually spreads through travelers or even goods being exchanged between different countries.
Both these Pandemics and epidemics are required by every government in every country, to be reported to the relevant medical regulatory authority of the said country.
Every country has a different list of Reportable communicable diseases, simply because some diseases are more prevalent in certain countries, and other countries may have some other diseases which are highly prevalent in their locality.
The reporting or notification is done by the regional medical centre, to the regulatory medical body.
There are certain diseases which require to be reported or notified even if there is only a single case of that disease diagnosed.
Examples are Cholera, diphtheria, smallpox, etc.
Whereas certain diseases are notified only after there are an increasing number of cases of that specific disease, being diagnosed within a short interval, say, within 1 to 3o days.
Once any disease, be it a Pandemic or an Epidemic disease is reported or notified to the government regulatory medical body, the patients are kept in isolation, in government hospitals and medical centers. The patient is monitored while in treatment, and discharged from the hospital only after the necessary remedial measures have been completed and the infective period is completely over.
The significance of the Notifiable diseases is that, WHO, or the World Health Organization can impose travel and trade restrictions between countries, in the wake of Pandemics.
The notifiable or reportable communicable diseases, which are common to most of the countries are Cholera, Yellow fever, Anthrax, Leptospirosis, H1N1, Plague, AIDS, Botulism, Brucellosis, Diphtheria, Q-Fever, Malaria, Rabies, Chancroid,Pertussis, Smallpox, Leprosy, Syphilis, Poliomyelitis, Influenza( laboratory confirmed), Legionellosis, Rubella, Hepatitis, Invasive Meningococcal disease, Tuberculosis, Tularemia, Avian Influenza(bird flu), Hydatid disease, Yersinosis, Tetanus, Rickettsial diseases, Hepatitis C, Typhoid, Paratyphoid, Mumps, Cryptosporidiosis, Giardiasis, Coccidioidomycosis, Ehrlichiosis etc
List Of Communicable Diseases
List Of Communicable Diseases
Most states in the United States have specific laws and guidelines that spell out how communicable diseases should be kept in check and how outbreaks should be curbed. Towards this end, they keep a list of communicable diseases that is available even for the general public. The list communicable diseases is primarily used by the health facilities, healthcare providers and the relevant monitory authorities to ensure that such diseases are kept under control at all times.
Basically a diseases is termed communicable (CD) if it is infectious and can be transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person via direct contact, contact or exchange of bodily fluids, or even through an indirect contact (like touching something that's bee touched by an infected person). The following list of communicable diseases has been classified into some basic categories that overlap. Attempt has been made to build the list accumulatively, such that no disease is repeated if it occurs in more than one category.
Some common communicable diseases among children in the US include HIV/AIDS, bacterial meningitis, pink eye, fifth disease, cold sores (herpes simplex), viral hepatitis (A, B and C), lice, flu, mumps, measles, mono (mononucleosis), pinworms, whooping cough, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), German measles (rubella), rosella, scabies, ringworm, staph infections, Chlamydia, genital herpes, scarlet fever, strep throat and tuberculosis.
Besides these, the EU has several other infections identified on its list of communicable diseases. Such diseases (Not covered above) include Amebiasis, Babesiosis, Chancroid, Chlamydia, Chickenpox (Varicella), Clostridium Difficile Infection, Crabs, E Coli, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), Ehrlichiosis, Giardiasis, Herpes, Hib/Haemophilus Influenza Type B, HIV, Human Papillomavirus (Genital Warts), Influenza, Legionellosis, Lyme, Meningitis (Meningococcal Disease), Molluscum Contagiosum, MRSA, Nongonococcal Urethritis (NGU), Norovirus Infection, Pediculosis and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).
In additions to these, both the EU and US recognize the following as communicable diseases; Pertussis (Whooping Cough), Polio, Rabies, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Salmonellosis, Shigellosis, Brucellosis, Echinococcosis, Scabies, Streptococcal and West Nile Virus. Some common sexually diseases across the continents include Gonorrhea, Chlamydia infections, Gonococcal infections, HIV-infection and Syphilis
In sub-Saharan Africa, there are some communicable diseases that are regarded as serious imported diseases and they include Cholera, Malaria, Plague and Viral hemorrhagic fevers. The most notorious communicable diseases that are airborne include Legionellosism, Meningococcal disease, Pneumococcal infections and Tuberculosis.
Some common food and water-borne communicable diseases and other diseases with an environmental origin include Botulism, Campylobacteriosis, Cryptosporidiosis, Giardiasis, Enterohaemorrhagic E.coli, Leptospirosis, Listeriosis, Toxoplasmosis, Trichinosis and Yersinosis.
Most states in the United States have specific laws and guidelines that spell out how communicable diseases should be kept in check and how outbreaks should be curbed. Towards this end, they keep a list of communicable diseases that is available even for the general public. The list communicable diseases is primarily used by the health facilities, healthcare providers and the relevant monitory authorities to ensure that such diseases are kept under control at all times.
Basically a diseases is termed communicable (CD) if it is infectious and can be transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person via direct contact, contact or exchange of bodily fluids, or even through an indirect contact (like touching something that's bee touched by an infected person). The following list of communicable diseases has been classified into some basic categories that overlap. Attempt has been made to build the list accumulatively, such that no disease is repeated if it occurs in more than one category.
Some common communicable diseases among children in the US include HIV/AIDS, bacterial meningitis, pink eye, fifth disease, cold sores (herpes simplex), viral hepatitis (A, B and C), lice, flu, mumps, measles, mono (mononucleosis), pinworms, whooping cough, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), German measles (rubella), rosella, scabies, ringworm, staph infections, Chlamydia, genital herpes, scarlet fever, strep throat and tuberculosis.
Besides these, the EU has several other infections identified on its list of communicable diseases. Such diseases (Not covered above) include Amebiasis, Babesiosis, Chancroid, Chlamydia, Chickenpox (Varicella), Clostridium Difficile Infection, Crabs, E Coli, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), Ehrlichiosis, Giardiasis, Herpes, Hib/Haemophilus Influenza Type B, HIV, Human Papillomavirus (Genital Warts), Influenza, Legionellosis, Lyme, Meningitis (Meningococcal Disease), Molluscum Contagiosum, MRSA, Nongonococcal Urethritis (NGU), Norovirus Infection, Pediculosis and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID).
In additions to these, both the EU and US recognize the following as communicable diseases; Pertussis (Whooping Cough), Polio, Rabies, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Salmonellosis, Shigellosis, Brucellosis, Echinococcosis, Scabies, Streptococcal and West Nile Virus. Some common sexually diseases across the continents include Gonorrhea, Chlamydia infections, Gonococcal infections, HIV-infection and Syphilis
In sub-Saharan Africa, there are some communicable diseases that are regarded as serious imported diseases and they include Cholera, Malaria, Plague and Viral hemorrhagic fevers. The most notorious communicable diseases that are airborne include Legionellosism, Meningococcal disease, Pneumococcal infections and Tuberculosis.
Some common food and water-borne communicable diseases and other diseases with an environmental origin include Botulism, Campylobacteriosis, Cryptosporidiosis, Giardiasis, Enterohaemorrhagic E.coli, Leptospirosis, Listeriosis, Toxoplasmosis, Trichinosis and Yersinosis.
Facts On Infectious Diseases
Facts On Infectious Diseases
Deaths from infectious diseases have declined markedly in the United States during the
20th century. This decline contributed to a sharp drop in infant and child mortality and
to the 29.2-year increase in life expectancy. In 1900, 30.4% of all deaths occurred among
children aged less than 5 years; in 1997, that percentage was only 1.4%. In 1900, the
three leading causes of death were pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB), and diarrhea and
enteritis, which (together with diphtheria) caused one third of all deaths. Of these
deaths, 40% were among children aged less than 5 years. In 1997, heart disease and cancers
accounted for 54.7% of all deaths, with 4.5% attributable to pneumonia, influenza, and
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Despite this overall progress, one of the
most devastating epidemics in human history occurred during the 20th century: the 1918
influenza pandemic that resulted in 20 million deaths, including 500,000 in the United
States, in less than 1 year--more than have died in as short a t
ime during any war or famine in the world. HIV infection, first
recognized in 1981, has caused a pandemic that is still in progress, affecting 33 million
people and causing an estimated 14 million deaths. These episodes illustrate the
volatility of infectious disease death rates and the unpredictability of disease
emergence.
Public health action to control infectious diseases in the 20th century is based on the
19th century discovery of microorganisms as the cause of many serious diseases (e.g.,
cholera and TB). Disease control resulted from improvements in sanitation and hygiene, the
discovery of antibiotics, and the implementation of universal childhood vaccination
programs. Scientific and technologic advances played a major role in each of these areas
and are the foundation for today's disease surveillance and control systems. Scientific
findings also have contributed to a new understanding of the evolving relation between
humans and microbes.
Some infectious disease experts wager future epidemics will take a greater toll on
human life than those in the past, despite medical advances made over the past century. We
are increasingly more vulnerable to infectious diseases, these experts point out, because
of the growing proportion of people residing in urban areas, which act as magnets for
epidemics. In 1800, less than 2 percent of the world's population lived in urban
communities.
Air travel, in addition, allows diseases to spread between cities on opposite ends of
the globe in a matter of hours.
Prominent on the list of new or reemerging diseases that have health officials
concerned are invasive strep infections, tuberculosis (TB), hantavirus pulmonary syndrome,
malaria, and dengue.
Changes in the Streptococcus bacterium that give it more punch are credited with
causing recent outbreaks of "flesh-eating" strep and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome
(strep TSS).
Both these infections are caused by invasive strep--a type of Streptococcus that more
readily spreads in the body than the types that cause strep throat. Studies by
Dennis Stevens at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, suggest invasive
strep is armed with two powerful toxins. In the body's furious attempt to rid
itself of one of the toxins, the immune system can foster the destruction of infected
muscle tissue or the sheath that covers the muscle (the flesh-eating manifestation)
or prompt the body to go into shock, which is often fatal, or both. Damage also is wreaked
by the other toxin, an enzyme that destroys tissue by breaking down
protein.
Invasive strep usually enters the body through minor injuries, such as deep bruises,
punctures, or chicken pox blisters. Only rarely is the deadly form of strep acquired
through person-to-person contact. People with invasive strep usually don't complain of a
sore throat, but rather often have flu-like achiness and fatigue that is followed by a
number of symptoms, including pain in one region of the body, cough and difficulty
breathing, or painful skin that is red, hot and swollen and gradually purples and forms
blisters. This can be accompanied or followed by confusion, low blood pressure, and
coma.
The antibiotics penicillin, erythromycin and clindamycin are the drugs of choice for
treating invasive strep infections; the earlier treatment is begun, the better the
outcome. Surgical removal of infected tissue, possibly including limb amputation, may be
necessary. Researchers are currently testing a vaccine for invasive strep.
After a comforting steady decline since the 1950s, TB incidence in the United States
began to climb in 1985, setting off alarms in the medical community. According to CDC
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), in 1994 there were 24,361 cases of TB in the
United States--about 2,000 more cases than in 1984.
TB's comeback in this country is tied to the rising numbers of people whose immune
systems are weakened by HIV infection, cancer and chemotherapy, or the
drugs taken following an organ transplant. A resurgence of the disease is also being
fostered by increasing poverty and drug abuse, as well as by increasing numbers
of immigrants to this country with TB.
Well-known to the ancient Egyptians, TB is caused by airborne bacteria expelled from
the lungs when a person with active TB coughs, sneezes or speaks. Repeated exposure to
these droplets can infect another person's lungs.
The immune defenses of healthy people usually prevent TB infection from spreading
beyond a small area of the lungs by creating a barricade around the bacteria. This
walled-up infection is called latent TB and may be present throughout a person's life.
People with latent TB test positive on the TB skin test. About 10 to 15 million people in
this country have latent TB.
Other possible resurgent and emerging diseases include a dangerous kind of E. coli
infection spread by contaminated meat, drug-resistant cholera, deadly Ebola infection, and
a new disease called human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, which is spread by the type of ticks
that can also carry Lyme disease.
Experts can't predict if any of these diseases will become a great problem. The best
protection is to be aware of the possibility and take precautions to prevent their
spread. As a 1992 National Academy of Sciences report on emerging infections points out,
"despite a great deal of progress in detecting, preventing, and treating
infectious diseases, we are a long way from eliminating the human health threats posed by
... a broad array of microbes."
Deaths from infectious diseases have declined markedly in the United States during the
20th century. This decline contributed to a sharp drop in infant and child mortality and
to the 29.2-year increase in life expectancy. In 1900, 30.4% of all deaths occurred among
children aged less than 5 years; in 1997, that percentage was only 1.4%. In 1900, the
three leading causes of death were pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB), and diarrhea and
enteritis, which (together with diphtheria) caused one third of all deaths. Of these
deaths, 40% were among children aged less than 5 years. In 1997, heart disease and cancers
accounted for 54.7% of all deaths, with 4.5% attributable to pneumonia, influenza, and
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Despite this overall progress, one of the
most devastating epidemics in human history occurred during the 20th century: the 1918
influenza pandemic that resulted in 20 million deaths, including 500,000 in the United
States, in less than 1 year--more than have died in as short a t
ime during any war or famine in the world. HIV infection, first
recognized in 1981, has caused a pandemic that is still in progress, affecting 33 million
people and causing an estimated 14 million deaths. These episodes illustrate the
volatility of infectious disease death rates and the unpredictability of disease
emergence.
Public health action to control infectious diseases in the 20th century is based on the
19th century discovery of microorganisms as the cause of many serious diseases (e.g.,
cholera and TB). Disease control resulted from improvements in sanitation and hygiene, the
discovery of antibiotics, and the implementation of universal childhood vaccination
programs. Scientific and technologic advances played a major role in each of these areas
and are the foundation for today's disease surveillance and control systems. Scientific
findings also have contributed to a new understanding of the evolving relation between
humans and microbes.
Some infectious disease experts wager future epidemics will take a greater toll on
human life than those in the past, despite medical advances made over the past century. We
are increasingly more vulnerable to infectious diseases, these experts point out, because
of the growing proportion of people residing in urban areas, which act as magnets for
epidemics. In 1800, less than 2 percent of the world's population lived in urban
communities.
Air travel, in addition, allows diseases to spread between cities on opposite ends of
the globe in a matter of hours.
Prominent on the list of new or reemerging diseases that have health officials
concerned are invasive strep infections, tuberculosis (TB), hantavirus pulmonary syndrome,
malaria, and dengue.
Changes in the Streptococcus bacterium that give it more punch are credited with
causing recent outbreaks of "flesh-eating" strep and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome
(strep TSS).
Both these infections are caused by invasive strep--a type of Streptococcus that more
readily spreads in the body than the types that cause strep throat. Studies by
Dennis Stevens at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, suggest invasive
strep is armed with two powerful toxins. In the body's furious attempt to rid
itself of one of the toxins, the immune system can foster the destruction of infected
muscle tissue or the sheath that covers the muscle (the flesh-eating manifestation)
or prompt the body to go into shock, which is often fatal, or both. Damage also is wreaked
by the other toxin, an enzyme that destroys tissue by breaking down
protein.
Invasive strep usually enters the body through minor injuries, such as deep bruises,
punctures, or chicken pox blisters. Only rarely is the deadly form of strep acquired
through person-to-person contact. People with invasive strep usually don't complain of a
sore throat, but rather often have flu-like achiness and fatigue that is followed by a
number of symptoms, including pain in one region of the body, cough and difficulty
breathing, or painful skin that is red, hot and swollen and gradually purples and forms
blisters. This can be accompanied or followed by confusion, low blood pressure, and
coma.
The antibiotics penicillin, erythromycin and clindamycin are the drugs of choice for
treating invasive strep infections; the earlier treatment is begun, the better the
outcome. Surgical removal of infected tissue, possibly including limb amputation, may be
necessary. Researchers are currently testing a vaccine for invasive strep.
After a comforting steady decline since the 1950s, TB incidence in the United States
began to climb in 1985, setting off alarms in the medical community. According to CDC
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), in 1994 there were 24,361 cases of TB in the
United States--about 2,000 more cases than in 1984.
TB's comeback in this country is tied to the rising numbers of people whose immune
systems are weakened by HIV infection, cancer and chemotherapy, or the
drugs taken following an organ transplant. A resurgence of the disease is also being
fostered by increasing poverty and drug abuse, as well as by increasing numbers
of immigrants to this country with TB.
Well-known to the ancient Egyptians, TB is caused by airborne bacteria expelled from
the lungs when a person with active TB coughs, sneezes or speaks. Repeated exposure to
these droplets can infect another person's lungs.
The immune defenses of healthy people usually prevent TB infection from spreading
beyond a small area of the lungs by creating a barricade around the bacteria. This
walled-up infection is called latent TB and may be present throughout a person's life.
People with latent TB test positive on the TB skin test. About 10 to 15 million people in
this country have latent TB.
Other possible resurgent and emerging diseases include a dangerous kind of E. coli
infection spread by contaminated meat, drug-resistant cholera, deadly Ebola infection, and
a new disease called human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, which is spread by the type of ticks
that can also carry Lyme disease.
Experts can't predict if any of these diseases will become a great problem. The best
protection is to be aware of the possibility and take precautions to prevent their
spread. As a 1992 National Academy of Sciences report on emerging infections points out,
"despite a great deal of progress in detecting, preventing, and treating
infectious diseases, we are a long way from eliminating the human health threats posed by
... a broad array of microbes."
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