Malaria
This mosquito born infectious disease
causes symptoms that typically include fever and headache, which in
severe cases can progress to coma or death. It is found primarily in the
tropics and as of yet there is no effective vaccination.
HIV
The virus behind AIDS, a condition in
humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows
life-threatening infections and cancers to thrive. Since its discovery
AIDS has cause over 30 million deaths.
Measles
Measles is spread through respiration
and is highly contagious as roughly 90% of people sharing living space
with an infected person will catch it. While the vast majority of
patients survive measles, complications occur fairly frequently, and may
include bronchitis, and panencephalitis which is potentially fatal.
Leprosy
This chronic disease has had a long
history of making its victims social pariahs due to the way it deforms
the surface of the skin. Although these days treatments have been
discovered, in many parts of the developing world leper colonies are
still very prevalent.
SARS
A viral respiratory disease in humans,
the last known case of the outbreak occurred in June 2003. SARS is not
claimed to have been eradicated, however, as it may still be present in
its natural host reservoirs (animal populations) and may return to the
human population.
Bubonic Plague
Known as a zoonotic disease,
circulating mainly among small rodents and their fleas, without
treatment the bubonic plague kills about two thirds of infected humans
within 4 days.
Cerebrovascular Disease
Basically a fancy way of saying stroke,
this happens when blood flow to a part of the brain is interrupted
because a blood vessel is blocked or bursts open.
Lower Respiratory Infections
There are two types of lower
respiratory infections, bronchitis and pneumonia. Some common symptoms
of these infections are runny nose and sneezing, headache, and sore
throat. Although in most western countries these diseases are not fatal,
in the developed world a lower respiratory infection can easily be
lethal.
Syphilis
This sexually transmitted disease is
believed to infect roughly 12 million people annually, with greater than
90% of cases in the developing world. Symptoms include everything from
rashes to heart problems and sometimes it can be difficult to diagnose
in its early stages.
Influenza A-H1N1 (Swine Flu)
Although it has been declared by the
WHO as officially over, swine flu was yet another deadly and contagious
strain the influenza virus.
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the
protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. The
inflammation may be caused by infection and less commonly by certain
drugs. The most common symptoms are headache and neck stiffness
associated with fever, confusion or altered consciousness, vomiting, and
an inability to tolerate light or loud noises.
Ischemic Heart Disease
Basically a fancy way of saying heart
attacks (or at least the factors that predispose individuals to them),
by some estimates 1 in 3 people are said to die from heart disease.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Often abbreviated as COPD, this disease
is caused by noxious particles or gas, most commonly from tobacco
smoking, that trigger an abnormal inflammatory response in the lung.
Worldwide, COPD is projected to become the fourth leading cause of death
by 2030 due to an increase in smoking rates and demographic changes in
many countries.
Tetanus
Tetanus is a medical
condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle
fibers. Infection generally occurs through wound contamination and often
involves a cut or deep puncture wound. As the infection progresses,
muscle spasms develop in the jaw (thus the name “lockjaw”) and elsewhere
in the body.
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Although we’ve already covered
influenza as a whole, certain strains adapt to a particular host, in
this case birds. Most human contractions of the avian flu are a result
of either handling dead infected birds or from contact with infected
fluids. For this reason there have been large outbreaks in heavily
agricultural parts of Asia and Africa.
Ebola
Deriving its name from the Ebola River
in Republic of the Congo, where it was first found, its victims
typically suffer fevers, muscle weakness, and other symptoms that
progress to severe bleeding, both internal and external, that eventually
causes them to bleed to death. Unfortunately there is no treatment as
of yet. Currently, we are experiencing what some are claiming to be the
deadliest and worst outbreak of the disease in history.
Whooping Cough
Technically known as Pertussis, this
highly infectious disease is known in some countries as the “cough of
100 days”. It is estimated that the disease currently affects 48.5
million people yearly, resulting in nearly 295,000 deaths
Perinatal Complications
Each year, about 500,000 women die
worldwide from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth,
including severe bleeding/hemorrhaging, infections, unsafe abortions,
obstructed labor and eclampsia, and more than 90 percent of maternal
deaths occur in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Diarrhea
A common cause of death in third world
countries and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide,
the loss of fluids through diarrhea can cause dehydration and
electrolyte disturbances such as potassium deficiency or other salt
imbalances.
Lung Cancer
On a world wide scale lung cancer is
the most common cancer related death in men and women, responsible for
1.38 million deaths annually.
Influenza
Commonly known as the flu, influenza is
usually transmitted through the air like tuberculosis but sometimes
through direct contact with contaminated surfaces. Because the virus can
be inactivated by soap, however, frequent hand washing reduces the risk
of infection.
Tuberculosis
Usually attacking the lungs, this
disease is spread by airborne saliva. The classic symptoms of active
tuberculosis infection are a chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum,
fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Today some estimates put nearly
one third of world down as having some form of tuberculosis.
Yellow Fever
Transmitted by the bite of female mosquitoes, this disease is found
in Africa and South America. It typically involves fever, chills,
anorexia, nausea, muscle pain (with prominent backache) and headache,
but in most cases subsides after several days. Due to warfare and social
disruption across Africa, there has seen a resurgence since the 1980s.
Smallpox
After the vaccination campaigns of the
20th century, smallpox has become one of two infectious diseases that
have been declared as completely eradicated (the other being
rinderpest). Throughout history, however, small pox has claimed numerous
lives and just in the 20th century, prior to vaccination, the death
toll was estimated at nearly 500 million.
Cholera
This infection of the small intestine
is transmitted primarily by drinking water or eating food containing the
feces of an infected person. Worldwide about 5 million people are
affected and over 100,000 die from Cholera every year.
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