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 | What is Cryptosporidiosis?
 | Cryptosporidiosis is a disease caused by the
waterborne protozoan cryptosporidium. Symptoms of the disease include
vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever usually lasting one to two weeks. In
immunosuppressed patients, such as people with AIDS, the disease can be fatal.
Outbreaks are usually caused by drinking water that has been contaminated with human
sewage or animal waste. Cryptosporidium sickened some 400,000 people and caused
more than 60 deaths in Milwaukee in 1993 when it contaminated the public water system. |
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| What is Giardiasis?
| Giardiasis is an infection of the small intestine by the
protozoan Giardia lamblia. Predominant symptoms are diarrhea and flatulence, but
about two thirds of infected individuals develop no symptoms. In some cases the infection
becomes chronic. Often no treatment is necessary, but antimicrobials (metronidazole and
quinacrine) are sometimes prescribed. The organism is spread via the fecal-oral
route. Considered a tropical disease, giardiasis is becoming more common in
developed countries. |
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| What is Cholera?
| Cholera or Asiatic cholera is an acute infectious disease
caused by strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The bacteria, which are found
in fecal-contaminated food and water and in raw or undercooked seafood,
produce a toxin that affects the intestines, causing diarrhea, severe fluid and
electrolyte loss, and, if untreated, death. Treatment consists of administration of
glucose and electrolyte solutions; vaccines are of limited effectiveness. The disease
remains prevalent in regions of the Third World where public sanitation is poor. |
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| What is Typhoid Fever?
| Typhoid Fever is an acute generalized infection caused by Salmonella
Typhosa. The main sources of infection are contaminated water or
milk and food handlers who are carriers. Symptoms include high fever, rose-colored spots
on the abdomen and chest, and diarrhea or constipation. Complications, especially in
untreated patients, may be numerous. The disease is treated with the antibiotic
chloramphenicol; typhoid vaccination is a valuable preventive measure. |
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| What is Dysentery?
| Dysentery is the inflammation of the intestines,
characterized by frequent passage of feces, usually with blood and mucus. Amoebic
dysentery is caused by infestation by the ameba Entamoeba histolytica. Bacillary
dysentery is most often caused by the Shigella bacillus. Spread by fecal
contamination of food and water, both forms are common where sanitation is poor.
Treatment of bacillary dysentery is with a broad-spectrum antibiotic; a combination of an
antibiotic and an amoebicide is necessary for successful treatment of amoebic dysentery. |
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| What is Diphtheria?
| Diphtheria is an acute, contagious disease caused by the Corynebacterium
diphtheriae. It is spread through respiratory droplets of infected individuals. The
bacteria, lodging in the mucous membranes of the throat, secrete a potent toxin, which
causes tissue destruction and the formation of a gray membrane in the upper respiratory
tract that can loosen and cause asphyxiation. The toxin may also spread via the blood and
damage tissues elsewhere in the body. Diphtheria can be prevented by vaccination. |
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| What is Pneumonia?
| Pneumonia is an acute infection of one or both lungs that
can be caused by a bacterium, usually the pneumococcus bacterium, virus, fungus,
or other organism. Symptoms include high fever, pain in the chest, difficulty in
breathing, coughing, and sputum. Viral pneumonia is generally milder than the bacterial
form. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, which is caused by a parasitic protozoan, generally
only occurs in patients whose immune system is suppressed, as in AIDS or leukemia.
Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial pneumonia and have greatly reduced the mortality
rate of the disease. |
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| What is Tuberculosis?
| Tuberculosis is a contagious disease caused by the bacterium
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, identified by Robert Koch in 1882. Also known as TB
and consumption, the disease primarily affects the lungs, although the intestines, joints,
and other parts of the body may also become infected. It is spread mainly by inhalation,
occasionally by ingestion through contaminated foods (e.g., unpasteurized milk) and
utensils. Symptoms as the disease progresses include fever, weakness, loss of appetite,
and, in the pulmonary form, cough and sputum. The incidence of tuberculosis—once
affecting millions—greatly decreased in many developed countries with improved
sanitation, early detection through X rays and skin tests, and antituberculosis drugs, but
in the late 1980s the number of cases began to rise, particularly among AIDS patients, the
poor, and immigrants from developing countries. Another troubling development was the
spread of strains resistant to isoniazid, the drug most often used in treatment. A
vaccine, Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG), that confers partial, temporary immunity is
given by the World Health Organization to high-risk children. |
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| What is Hepatitis?
| Hepatitis is any of several viral inflammations of the liver
that cause nausea, fever, weakness, loss of appetite, and, usually, jaundice. Five viral
forms have been identified. The most common are: hepatitis A (infectious), spread through
contaminated food or water; and hepatitis B (serum), usually transmitted by sexual
activity, transfusion of infected blood or transplantation of infected tissue, or use of
shared syringes by drug addicts or of poorly sterilized medical and dental instruments. A
third type, hepatitis C, is also transmitted by contaminated blood transfusions and tissue
transplants. Although rarer, hepatitis C is more likely to become chronic and to result in
cirrhosis. Hepatitis can also occur as a complication of other diseases or as a toxic
reaction to alcohol, drugs, or other chemicals. Vaccination for hepatitis B is recommended
for all infants and others at risk for the virus; a hepatitis A vaccine has also been
developed. Chronic hepatitis B and C may be treated with interferon. |
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| What is Influenza?
| Influenza is an acute, highly contagious disease caused by
one of several constantly changing viruses. The disease usually begins abruptly with
fever, muscular aches, and inflammation of the respiratory mucous membranes; its more
severe complications are pneumonia and bronchitis. Influenza epidemics have decimated
large populations; an outbreak in 1918 killed more than 20 million people. An injection
with influenza virus vaccine can confer immunity to a particular strain. |
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| What is Polio?
| Poliomyelitis or polio is an acute viral infection that, in
its severe form, invades the nervous system and causes paralysis. In its mild form the
disease produces mild symptoms (e.g., low-grade fever, malaise), or none. Also known as
infantile paralysis, it is found worldwide, occurring mainly in children. The Salk vaccine
(injected killed-virus vaccine) and the Sabin vaccine (oral live-virus vaccine) have
greatly reduced the incidence of polio, nearly eradicating it from developed nations. In
1985 the World Health Organization began an effort to eradicate polio worldwide by 2000.
The last reported case of polio in the Americas was in 1991. |
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All definitions are from The Microsoft Bookshelf, 1996-1997
Edition.
Biology | Chemistry | Medicine | La Natural | Sports Bottle
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