Introduction

First, the etymology. The English word ‘dysentery’ has its roots in two Greek words meaning “ill” and “intestine”. Dysentery is a general term for a class of gastrointestinal disorders that are characterized by inflammation of the intestines, particularly the colon. Characteristic features of dysentery include abdominal pain and cramps, staining of stools, and frequent passage of watery stools. The watery stools may even contain blood and mucus. Though common, dysentery has potential of turning serious. Mankind has been troubled with dysentery for thousands of years. The earliest references to dysentery occur as early as fifth century B.C. Dysentery was a common occurrence in army camps, walled cities, and other places where large groups of people lived together in close quarters with poor sanitation facilities. As late as eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the number of people dying from dysentery was greater than that dying from injuries received in battle.

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What is Chickenpox?

Chicken Pox is an ubiquitous and extremely contagious viral illness. The primary illness, characterized by a generalized skin rash, is caused by the Varicella Zoster virus. Recurrence of the infection results in a localized skin rash, otherwise known as shingles or Herpes Zoster. Chicken Pox, often confused with Small Pox in earlier times, occurs seasonally and in epidemics the world over. Humans are the only known reservoir. The virus is spread by the respiratory route and is a common infection in children.

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Introduction

Encephalitis is a rare disease that occurs in approximately 0.5 per 100,000 individuals — most commonly in children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems (i.e., those with HIV/AIDS or cancer). Encephalitis literally means an inflammation of the brain, but it usually refers to brain inflammation caused by a virus.

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Introduction

Nausea and vomiting are not diseases, but rather are symptoms of many different conditions, such as infection (”stomach flu”), food poisoning, motion sickness, overeating, blocked intestine, illness, concussion or brain injury, appendicitis, and migraines. Nausea and vomiting can sometimes be symptoms of more serious diseases such as heart attacks, kidney or liver disorders, central nervous system disorders, brain tumors, and some forms of cancer.

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What It Is

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease of humans caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. Leprosy is also known as hansen’s disease.
Greek:  lepid = scales on a fish.
The disease can affect the skin, mucous membranes, and eyes and some of the nerves that are located outside the central nervous system (peripheral nerves). These are primarily the nerves of the hands, feet, and eyes, and some of the nerves in the skin. In severe, untreated cases, loss of sensation, muscle paralysis of hands and feet, disfigurement, and blindness may occur.

Types

Leprosy has traditionally been classified into two major types, tuberculoid and lepromatous. Patients with tuberculoid leprosy have limited disease and relatively few bacteria in the skin and nerves, while lepromatous patients have widespread disease and large numbers of bacteria. Tuberculoid leprosy is characterized by a few flat or slightly raised skin lesions of various sizes that are typically pale or slightly red, dry, hairless, and numb to touch (anesthetic). Lepromatous leprosy is at the other end of the spectrum, with a much more generalized disease, diffuse involvement of the skin, thickening of many peripheral nerves, and at times involvement of other organs, such as eyes, nose, testicles, and bone. There are also intermediate subtypes between these two extremes that are commonly known as borderline leprosy. The intermediate subtypes are borderline tuberculoid, midborderline, and borderline lepromatous leprosy. Borderline leprosy and the subtypes are characterized by more extensive disease than polar tuberculoid, with more numerous skin lesions and more nerve involvement, but not as widespread disease as in lepromatous leprosy. Indeterminate leprosy refers to a very early form of leprosy that consists of a single skin lesion with slightly diminished sensation to touch. It will usually progress to one of the major types of leprosy.

Spread of Leprosy

It is not clear how leprosy is spread. However, one way the disease is likely passed from person to person is through droplets expelled from the nose and mouth of an infected person and breathed in or touched by an uninfected person. But even with the bacteria in the air, most people do not contract leprosy. About half of the people with leprosy probably contracted it through close, long-term contact with an infected person. Casual and short-term contact do not seem to spread the disease. Leprosy cannot be contracted by simply touching someone with the disease, as is commonly believed. Health care workers often work for many years with people who have leprosy without contracting the disease. Other potential sources of Mycobacterium leprae are soil, armadillos, and possibly bedbugs and mosquitoes.
About 95% of people who are exposed to Mycobacterium leprae do not develop leprosy because their immune system fights off the infection. In people who do develop the disease, the infection can range from mild (tuberculoid leprosy) to severe (lepromatous leprosy). The tuberculoid form of leprosy is not contagious.

Treatment of Leprosy

For many years, it was considered a mysterious disorder associated with some type of curse, and persons with the disease were isolated and ostracized. Today, there is effective treatment and the disease can be cured. There is no longer any justification for isolating persons with leprosy. Antibiotic treatment can stop the progression of leprosy but does not reverse any nerve damage or deformity. Thus, early detection and treatment are vitally important. Because some leprosy bacteria may be resistant to certain antibiotics, doctors prescribe more than one drug. The standard combination is dapsone and rifampin

What Is Hemophilia?

Hemophilia is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body’s ability to control blood clotting or coagulation. Etymology is as under:
Greek: haima = blood philia = to love.

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What It Is

Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious disease. Tuberculosis was earlier known as ‘consumption’. Its symptoms include chest pain, coughing up blood and a productive, prolonged cough for more than three weeks. Its systematic symptoms include fever, chills, night sweats, appetite loss, weight loss, pallor, and often a tendency to fatigue very easily. When the disease becomes active, 75% of the cases are pulmonary TB. In the other 25% of active cases, the infection moves from the lungs, causing other kinds of TB more common in  young children. The primary cause of TB, Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, is an aerobic bacterium that divides every 16 to 20 hours, an extremely slow rate compared with other bacteria, which usually divide in less than an hour.

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What It Is:

As the title declares, influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by flu viruses. Influenza is also known by the name ‘flu’. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The flu is different from a cold. The flu usually comes on suddenly and may include these symptoms:

• Fever  (usually high)
• Headache
• Extreme tiredness
• Dry cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle aches
• Stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, also can occur but are more common in children than adults

Above symptoms are usually referred to as ‘flu-like’ symptoms.

Span of the disease: Every year in the United States, on average:

• 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu;
• more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and;
• about 36,000 people die from flu.

Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), are at high risk for serious flu complications.

Spread of Influenza:

Flu viruses spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5 days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.

Prevention of Influenza:

Medical science has been able to come out with vaccines for Influenza. These are of two types:

• The “flu shot” – an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle. The flu shot is approved for use in people 6 months of age and older, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions.
• The nasal-spray flu vaccine – a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu (sometimes called LAIV for “Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine”). LAIV is approved for use in healthy* people 2-49 years of age† who are not pregnant.

About two weeks after vaccination, antibodies develop that protect against influenza virus infection. Flu vaccines will not protect against flu-like illnesses caused by non-influenza viruses.

Treatment:

Two flu antiviral drugs are recommended for use in the United States during the 2007-08 flu season: oseltamivir and zanamivir. Oseltamivir and zanamivir are effective against both influenza A and B viruses.

• oseltamivir is approved to both treat and prevent flu in people one year of age and older.
• anamivir is approved to treat flu in people 7 years and older and to prevent flu in people 5 years and older.

What Is Appendicitis?

To understand Appendicitis, one needs to understand an organ called ‘appendix’. The appendix is a small, tube-like structure attached to the first part of the large intestine, also called the colon. The appendix is located in the lower right portion of the abdomen. It has no known function. Removal of the appendix appears to cause no change in digestive function. Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix. Once it starts, there is no effective medical therapy, so appendicitis is considered a medical emergency. When treated promptly, most patients recover without difficulty. If treatment is delayed, the appendix can burst, causing infection and even death. Appendicitis is the most common acute surgical emergency of the abdomen. In the U.S., 1 in 15 people will get appendicitis. Anyone can get appendicitis, but it occurs most often between the ages of 10 and 30. Appendicitis occurs when the appendix becomes blocked, often by stool, a foreign body, or cancer. Blockage may also occur from infection, since the appendix swells in response to any infection in the body.

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What Is Jaundice?

Jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, is not a disease itself but a symptom of an underlying disorder. The discoloration occurs when excessive amounts of the body pigment bilirubin accumulate in the bloodstream. Normally bilirubin — a natural byproduct of the breakdown of red blood cells in the liver — mixes with the digestive juice bile and passes harmlessly out of the body through the digestive tract. But if the liver is not functioning properly or the passage of bile is obstructed (perhaps by gallstones), bilirubin backs up into the blood. Jaundice in newborns and very young children, in most cases, is relatively benign. But in older children and adults it can be a sign of a more serious ailment.

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