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Diseases & Viruses
Diphtheria. A potentially fatal bacterial disease that mainly affects the tonsils, pharynx, larynx, and nose. In some cases, a grayish membrane forms over the throat and tonsils; this membrane can be dangerous if it obstructs breathing. Diphtheria usually strikes infants, young children, and adults who have not been immunized against the disease. Diphtheria also can cause severe complications that affect the heart, nerves, and other tissues. If diphtheria is confined to the nose, the illness is usually mild to the point of hardly being noticed, but the infection may become chronic. Diphtheria can also infect the skin. Hepatitis B (HBV). A serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver. HBV can cause acute illness leading to loss of appetite, tiredness, pain in muscles, joints or stomach, diarrhea or vomiting and yellow skin or eyes (jaundice). In 20% of cases, the person recovers from the illness, but the virus remains in their blood, capable of infecting other people. Rates of infection are higher in many developing countries, with a higher number of people who harbor the hepatitis B virus in their blood. Meningococcal Meningitis. A bacterium capable of causing serious and often fatal disease in humans. Two forms of illness are possible: an infection of the lining of the brain, or an infection of the blood stream and the major organs. Plague. This disease is caused by bacteria that infect wild rodents, whose fleas can pass the illness to humans and other mammals. Humans contract the disease either through the bite of an infected flea (bubonic plague), or after being exposed to coughing and sneezing from an infected person (pneumonic plague). Bubonic plague is characterized by large infected lymph nodes. Pneumonic plague develops rapidly and has a higher fatality rate. Polio. A highly contagious viral infection caused by polioviruses. The polioviruses infect the gastrointestinal tract and very rarely affect the spinal cord. Most people who are infected have no symptoms. In the most feared consequence of polio infection, muscle paralysis occurs. In rare cases, the entire body, including the breathing muscles, can become paralyzed, leading to death, or prolonged support on a breathing machine. Today, vaccination programs have led to the eradication of polio from the Western Hemisphere, with the goal of worldwide eradication in the near future. Tetanus or Lockjaw. Unique among the vaccine-preventable diseases because the source of infection is most of the earth's soil, which contains the infecting bacteria. Tetanus bacteria grows only in the absence of oxygen, so puncture wounds or minor wounds that seal off after injury may enable the bacteria to grow in the skin. The bacteria produce a toxin that causes severe muscle contractions, including spasms of the jaw muscles (thus the synonym "lockjaw"). Tuberculosis (TB). An infectious disease that is chronic in nature and commonly affects the lungs, although it may occur in almost any part of the body. The most common mode of transmission in the U.S. is inhalation of infected droplet nuclei. In some other parts of the world bovine tuberculosis, which is carried in infected cattles unpasteurized milk and other dairy products, is more prevalent. A rare mode of transmission is by infected urine, especially for young children using the same toilet facilities. Tuberculosis is also seen as an opportunistic infection in HIV infection.
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