Human Diseases

Acute Respiratory Infection ( ARI ) is infections of respiratory tract, from nose to alveoli. It is one of the major killer disease of children worldwide. Generally, leading cause of morbidity and mortality of this disease is on under 5 children.

ARI is caused by a variety of agents. They are :

Bacteria : ( most of lower ARIs ) Bordetella pertusis, Corynebacteruim diptheriae, Hemophilus influenza, Kleibsella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Virus (most of upper ARIs) : Influenza virus, parainfluenza virus, measles virus, rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus.

Others : Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia

The disease is mainly transmitted through droplet infection, or also through the droplet nuclei. Once the healthy person is invaded by the infection, patient shows different clinical features like difficulty in breathing , fast breathing which reaches more than 50/min slowly till 5 years. Not only this, one also suffer from ear problems followed by time to time.

Based on the guidelines of integrated management of childhood illness ( IMCI, by WHO ) , ARI is classified into several types. They are :

1.No pneumonia : There is no chest indrawing as well as no fast breathing. For this sort of ARI , there is several symptomatic treatment.

2.Pneumonia : If pneumonia is resulted from ARI, in this case also , there is no chest indrawing, however, fast breathing is resulted.

3.Severe pneumonia : In case of ARI followed by severe pneumonia, there is chest indrawing as well as fast breathing. Treatment for this is use of antibiotics like co-trimoxazole, amoxicillin, chloramphenicol, etc.

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Meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges. Its agent can be of different kind of organisms.
.Bacteria : Neisseria meningitis, E.coli, Proteus, Hemophilus, influenza, Streptococcus, pneumonia, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Virus : Echovirus, Polio virus, Epstein barr virus, Influenza virus.

Fungi : Cryptococcus neoformans

Protozoa : Toxoplasma

Meningitis is transmitted mainly by the droplet infection. Its incubation period varies according to the causative agent. For Neisseria meningitis, it varies from 2-10 days. It causes meningococcal meningitis, which is most dangerous form of meningitis.

Clinical features show intense headache, vomiting, high fever, neck stiffness, unconsciousness and coma. The meningococcal meningitis has a very rapid course and these symptoms can develop very rapidly within few hours. Penicillin is used in its treatment.

Meningitis can be diagnosed through different methods. The study of the CSF cytology, total number of cells, sugar and protein content. Depending on the causative agent there are different findings of these parameter. In case of bacterial meningitis there is increased level of cells, low sugar and more protein. In case of the tuberculosis meningitis, Fibrin coagulum is seen on standing the CSF.

Meningitis is a dreadful disease and if its timely cure isn't done, it can create a worse situation. Some of its complications are residual neurological deficit and death. The case fatality rate of the meningococcal antibiotics availability and proper management the mortality has declined.

Its treatment is based on the type of cause. In case of the bacterial meningitis, it is treated with antibiotics like Penicillin, Chloramphenicol, Cefotaxamine, gentamycin. For the fungus antifugal drugs are used. Viral meningitis is managed by symptomatic and supportive treatment.

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Pertussis is an acute respiratory infection caused by Bordetella pertussis. Pertussis is also called ' hundred day cough ' by Chinese. The main victims are preschool children , although highest mortality is seen in below 6 months age group.

People usually are careless in manner of pertussis , however it can result worst situation. Isolation of cases should be done within the 4 weeks. Penicillin and erythromycin can be effective. Several contacts like prophylactic erythromyocin or penicillins should be adopted. The main prevention is done by no exposure to the patients. The infected ones should also adopt a lot care while sneezing, coughing to prevent droplet transmission. Prevention includes vaccination with pertussis vaccine either single or combined DPT.

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Hydrophobia, is a set of symptoms at a stage of infection from rabies. Rabies is disease which directly affects the central nervous system of our body. It is transmitted from infected mammals and is deadly from the start of symptoms. Hydrophobia is also termed as aquaphobia, since in this stage, people get scared of water.

There is generally a misconception in people that hydrophobia generally means people getting scared of a bucket of water, which is totally a wrong idea. Hydrophobia usually means fear of getting drowned in deep water conditions. Once hydrophobia is resulted, victims experience fear when they are exposed near the any water resources, may be a pond, river, ocean, or even a bathtub.

Patient of hydrophobia experience show some unusual behavior when they are exposed to any water reservoir. They say that they develop fear of getting drowned in water and can't withstand the water reservoir at their sight. Some patients even have the nightmare of getting drowned in water resources.Sufferer get several sorts of symptoms. His pulse rate gets higher when he stands near water sources. Dry mouth, shortness of breath, physical and mental imbalance, state of dilemma in every sorts of work are some other symptoms of hydrophobia.

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These are caused by fungi. Examples : Ringworm, athlete's foot, etc.

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Bird flu, also termed as ' avian influenza ' has become concerning disease in these recent years. As the name clears, this flu attacks different species of birds , especially includes chickens, ducks and geese.In total , there are about 16 types of bird flu virus , however, one that is concerning is deadly H5N1 strain. At present, worldwide, about 9,000 deaths has been resulted due to the bird flu, and the deaths of chickens has no limit at all.

Primarily, prevention should be adopted by the one who works in poultry. One should must use masks and gloves for his protection while working in poultry.Bird flu should be controlled starting from farm. Farm animals should be kept well fenced and we should control their link with wild animals as well as other farms. If any sorts of symptoms of flu is found in any bird, then it should be isolated from the group and should be kept separate for investigation. Careful dealing with different nasal and faeceal discharges while working in poultry should be done.

If we have any bird as pet, then we should be careful in this case. It should be kept caged, and control its way out to outdoor. AVMC ( The American Veterinarian Medical Association ) suggests not to allow our cat to escape here and there outside, for prevention from bird flu and other diseases as well.

Prevention while eating poultry items is a must for preventing bird flu. Several preventive measures should be taken in considerations while handling and eating poultry items. Separate dishes and knives should be used for poultry and vegetables and should be well washed after they are used. Cooking temperature should must exceed 70°C. Eggs also carry bird flu. So, eggs should be well washed before they are cooked. Buying cracked eggs should be strictly avoided. Several of people take frozen meat who should well know that freezing the meat does not kill the virus at all.

Different vaccines are available for bird flu. Tamiflu prevents virus from escaping its host cell. However , these medication are not well effective and treatment can't be assured. So, if we can , prevention is far better than searching its cure.

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Hepatitis is defined as the infection of liver by virus ( expecially A, B, C , D, E virus ). It is self-limiting disease.

Some facts about different viral Hepatitis
> Among the Hepatitis A, B, C, D, E : Hepatitis B is DNA virus , rest are RNA virus.
> Vaccine and Immunoglobulin are present for Hepatitis B and C.
> Treatment: drugs are present for Hepatitis B and C.
> Fecal - oral transmission is present in Hepatitis A and E.
> Vertical transmission ( Mother to foetus ) is present in Hepatitis B and D.
> Hepatitis A and E are also known as infective hepatitis.
> Chronic hepatitis if infected for >6 months.
> Hepatitis B and C may cause liver abscess, liver cirrhosis, and liver cancer.
> Hepatitis C is silent killer, more chronic carrier stage.

Hepatitis A / traveller's Hepatitis
Its agent is hepatitis a virus and reservoir in humans is Asymptomatic or symptomatic. It is transmitted by fecal oral route and sexually in homosexual men by oral - anal contact.Incubation period for this Hepatitis is 15 - 45 days. Control measure for this Hepatitis includes boiling water, flocculation, filtration, and adequate chlorination, hand washing, proper sanitation.

Hepatitis E
This Hepatitis causes self-limiting viral illness with mortality ( 0.5 - 4% ) especially in pregnant women ( liver failure ). Pregnancy and Hepatitis E results abortions, IUD , high perinatal morbidity and mortality.

Hepatitis B

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