Tips for avoiding infectious disease

Everyone, at some point in their life, have experienced getting sick from another human being. Whether it was contracting chicken pox playing kickball in elementary school or kissing a significant other, it is not uncommon to contract an infectious disease from another person.

A disease is defined as an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, usually indicated by specific symptoms and signs. Infectious diseases, in particular, are caused by external factors such as viruses, bacteria, and other harmful pathogens. It may be as simple as the coughing of co-worker or carelessness in the hospital that can cause you to contract an infectious disease. These diseases range from the common cold to deadly sexually transmitted diseases.

Infectious diseases may seem like an omnipresent part of human life, but there are definitely steps that you can take to avoid contracting such infectious diseases. Being careful and conscious of your safety, along with knowing your surrounding environment can help you avoid contract an infectious disease. Your skin is the main defensive mechanism against infectious diseases, but some diseases will find other ways to enter your body.

The rest of this article will give you tips on how to avoid contracting infectious diseases. Follow these tips to change your behavior and avoid the spread and contraction of these diseases. plumber atlanta Read more »

10 Tips to Prevent Infections

It may seem a daunting task to keep yourself and your loved ones free of infections. Beyond the obvious—steering clear of runny noses and hacking coughs—you may be wondering about some other practical ways of staying infection-free. Your skin acts as a natural barrier against harmful microbes that cause infections, but smart “bugs” have found alternative routes to get into your body and cause infection. By making a few simple behavioral changes (which ultimately reduce their access into your body), you can easily prevent the spread of many infectious diseases.

1. Wash your hands frequently. Did you know that microbes can live on inert surfaces anywhere from a few minutes to several months? Imagine these disease-causing microbes living on your computer keyboard, your light-switch, or even on the pedestrian-crossing button next to the crosswalk!Surprisingly, most people don’t know the best way to effectively wash their hands. The CDC recommends washing thoroughly and vigorously with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, followed by hand-drying with a paper towel. In the absence of running water, an alcohol-based hand gel or wipe will suffice, although nothing beats good ol’ soap and water. This takes about as long as it does to sing “Happy Birthday”, so some hospitals recommend washing your hands for the duration of this simple tune!
2. Don’t share personal items. Toothbrushes, towels, razors, handkerchiefs, and nail clippers can all be sources of infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, and fungi). In kindergarten, you were taught to share your toys, but keep your hands to yourself. Now try to remember to keep personal items to yourself as well!
3. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. In a similar vein, good personal hygiene includes not only personal cleanliness, but also the age-old practice of covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Why is this important if you aren’t sick? For most infections, the disease-causing microbe has already started growing and dividing long before any symptoms begin to show. Coughing or sneezing can spread these germs through microscopic droplets in the air. The current recommendation is to cover your mouth with your arm, sleeve, or crook of the elbow, rather than using your hands. Read more »

Definition of Infectious Diseases

Infectious disease is disease caused by a pathogen which enters the body and triggers the development of an infection. Infectious diseases have a range of causes, and they can be found all over the world. These diseases are considered contagious or communicable, meaning that they can be passed from person to person. It is also possible for such diseases to spread indirectly through unhygienic conditions, or from animals to people, in which case they are known as zoonotic diseases.

A variety of pathogens can be responsible for infectious disease, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and prions. Within these large categories of infectious organisms, there are numerous modes of transmission and a colorful assortment of symptoms, although surprisingly few organisms cause infectious disease, when one considers the diversity of viral, bacterial, fungal, and protozoan life. In order to treat an infectious disease, doctors must be able to knock out the source of the infection and repair the damage it has done to the body. Many infectious diseases make the body vulnerable to secondary infections, in which other organisms move in to take advantage of a weakened immune system, and this can be very problematic.

The study of infectious disease is known as epidemiology. Epidemiologists work to determine the source of an infectious disease so that they can develop new treatment approaches. They also identify emerging outbreaks, which may develop into epidemics or pandemics, and areas where a disease is endemic, meaning that it occurs regularly. Malaria, for example, is endemic to some regions of Africa and Southeast Asia. Read more »

Malaria

Background
Malaria, which predominantly occurs in tropical areas, is a potentially life-threatening disease caused by infection with Plasmodium protozoa transmitted by an infective female Anopheles mosquito vector. Individuals with malaria may present with fever and a wide range of symptoms.

The 4 Plasmodium species known to cause malaria include Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium malariae. A fifth species, Plasmodium knowlesi, has recently been identified as a clinically significant pathogen in humans. Timely identification of the infecting species is extremely important, as P falciparum infection can be fatal and is often resistant to standard chloroquine treatment. In some cases, individuals with malaria are infected with multiple Plasmodium species. P falciparum and P vivax are responsible for most new infections. Each Plasmodium species has a defined area of endemicity, although geographic overlap is common. Species can usually be distinguished by morphology on a blood smear. P falciparum is distinguished from the rest of plasmodia by its high level of parasitemia and the banana shape of its gametocytes.

Malaria in travelers typically manifests weeks after the individual leaves the endemic area. Presentation more than 4 weeks after returning from the endemic area is unusual. In some individuals, disease manifests months or years later, usually due to the presence of P vivax or P ovale hypnozoites, which can remain dormant in the liver and reactivate years after infection. Relapse with P vivax or P ovale infection is rare more than 5 years after initial infection. Because symptomatic delay is common, history of even a remote exposure to an endemic area should be elicited. Symptoms of malaria are nonspecific, and, because timely diagnosis and treatment are necessary, malaria should be considered in all patients from tropical areas who present with fever. Read more »

Dengue Fever

Background
Dengue, the most common arboviral illness transmitted worldwide, is caused by infection with 1 of the 4 serotypes of dengue virus, family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus (single-stranded nonsegmented RNA viruses). Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, which are widely distributed in subtropical and tropical areas of the world, and is classified as a major global health threat by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Initial dengue infection may be asymptomatic (50%-90%), may result in a nonspecific febrile illness, or may produce the symptom complex of classic dengue fever (DF). A small percentage of persons who have previously been infected by one dengue serotype develop bleeding and endothelial leak upon infection with another dengue serotype. This syndrome is termed dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), although dengue vasculopathy has been proposed as a better term, as fluid loss into tissue spaces can lead to prolonged shock and complications, including gastrointestinal bleeding, a greater fatality risk than bleeding per se. Some patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever develop shock (dengue shock syndrome [DSS]), which may cause death.

Dengue virus transmission follows two general patterns—epidemic dengue and hyperendemic dengue. Epidemic dengue transmission occurs when dengue virus is introduced into a region as an isolated event that involves a single viral strain. If the number of vectors and susceptible pediatric and adult hosts is sufficient, explosive transmission can occur, with an infection incidence of 25%-50%. Mosquito-control efforts, changes in weather, and herd immunity contribute to the control of these epidemics. Transmission appears to begin in urban centers and then spreads to the rest of a country. This is the current pattern of transmission in parts of Africa and South America, areas of Asia where the virus has reemerged, and small island nations. Travelers to these areas are at increased risk of acquiring dengue during these periods of epidemic transmission.

Hyperendemic dengue transmission is characterized by the continuous circulation of multiple viral serotypes in an area where a large pool of susceptible hosts and a competent vector (with or without seasonal variation) are constantly present. This is the predominant pattern of global transmission. In these populations, antibody prevalence increases with age and most adults are immune. Hyperendemic transmission appears to be a major risk for dengue hemorrhagic fever. Travelers to these areas are more likely to be infected than are travelers to areas that experience only epidemic transmission. Read more »