Home > Health > Diseases & Conditions > Infectious Disease
Understanding Typhus
Typhus is an umbrella of similar diseases caused by the Rickettsia bacteria. It comes from the Greek work “typhos,” meaning smoky or lazy, describing the state of mind of those affected with the disease. The Rickettsia bacteria are endemic to rodents and spreads to humans by mites, fleas, and body lice. It is primarily transferred by common fleas, although poor hygienic environments can also worsen the spread of bacteria.Types of typhusThere are different types of typhus, among them are epide…
Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease
Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a human syndrome caused by intestinal viruses of the Picornaviridae family, the most common strain are Coxsackie A virus and Enterovirus 71. This disease usually affects infants and children; it is moderately contagious and spreads by direct contact with saliva, mucus, or feces of an infected person. Meanwhile, HFMD is extremely uncommon in adults, but it is still a possibility. Most adults have immune systems that are strong enough to defeat the virus,…
Understanding Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a bacterial infection caused by Rickettsia rickettssii, which spreads to humans by hard ticks. It is considered as the most severe and most frequently reported rickett-related illness in the United States. It is also known in various names such as “tick typhus,” “Tobia fever,” “São Paulo fever,” “febre maculosa,” and “fiebre manchada.” This disease is different from the Colorado tick fever, although both come from the same source.What is Rocky Mountain spotted …
Understanding Chickenpox
Chickenpox is a highly-contagious disease caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV). It spreads from person to person by direct contact or by air from an infected person’s coughing and sneezing. Its noticeable red sores usually begin on the mucus membranes on the head such as the conjunctiva between 10 to 20 days after the infection before spreading all over the body, mainly on the head and torso. Although the sores are itchy, they mostly heal without scarring the skin.What is chickenpox?It …
Understanding Meningitis
Meningitis is the inflammation of the lining around the spinal cord and the brain, collectively known as the meninges. Meningitis is usually viral or bacterial. Occasionally it is caused by fungal infections, although almost all microbes can cause it. Bacterial meningitis is the most serious type caused by a range of different bacteria. Bacterial meningitis can kill in hours. Viral meningitis, on the other hand, can be very displeasing, but this type is almost never fatal. Most patients with vir…
What Is Poliomyelitis?
A deadly disease swept through the United States in the first half of the 1900’s. This epidemic was caused by poliomyelitis, more widely known as polio. From 1945-1949, poliomyelitis cases averaged about 20,000 every year. Since the discovery of polio vaccination by Jonas Salk in the 1950’s reduced the annual number of cases from hundreds of thousands to only around thousands. The term “poliomyelitis» is derived from the Greek word “polio” (grey), “myelon” (spinal cord), and the suffix -itis, wh…
What is Typhoid Fever?
Typhoid fever is a bacterial illness or disease that is fairly common worldwide. This infection is caused mainly by the Salmonella typhi bacteria. It can be transmitted through infected food or water as well as feces of a contaminated person. Although a more common disease in developing countries, Typhoid fever also affect a considerable number of people in industrial countries where it still can be a threat. Causes of typhoid feverTyphoid fever is caused by Salmonella typhi. The bacteria can fi…
Facts About SARS
SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a highly contagious respiratory illness that has just affected quite a number of Asian countries and has reached near pandemic proportions sometime between 2002 and 2003. The outbreak of SARS put the disease into the limelight and put the whole world to a scary predicament of trying to contain the further spread of the disease. So far, the threat of SARS has subsided for the meantime but may have chances of striking again if countries are not continuo…
Introduction to Mumps
Mumps is an illness caused by the mumps virus. The term “mumps” comes from “mumble”. It came to be applied to the disease due to the side effects it causes. What are the symptoms of mumps?Mumps causes fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite. Some rare symptoms of mumps include loss of voice. The most apparent symptom of mumps is the swelling of salivary glands. The swelling of the glands near the jaw line below the ears may give your cheeks a “puffy” appearance. How mumps a…
Introduction to Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases are clinical diseases caused by pathogenic microbial agents – pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic viruses, fungi, multicellular parasites, protozoa, and aberrant proteins (prions). These pathogens cause diseases in humans, animals, and plants. The following are the five human infectious diseases classified according to the causative pathogenic microbial agents:Bacterial infectious diseasesNot all bacteria are harmful. Your bowels, mouth, and skin are in fact full of them. Many ba…
Health Topics
- Allergies
- Arthritis
- Brain & Nervous System
- Cholesterol
- Cold & Flu
- Diabetes
- Ear, Nose, Throat
- Headache & Migraine
- High Blood Pressure
- Lungs
- Oral Health
- Sleep Health
- Stroke
- Urology
- Alzheimers
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Chronic Pain
- Depression
- Digestive System
- Eyesight
- Heart
- Infectious Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Skin
- Speech & Language
- Thyroid
- West Nile Virus