MALARIA

Malaria Causes
Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells. Usually, people get malaria by being bitten by an infective female Anopheles mosquito. OnlyAnopheles mosquitoes can transmit malaria and they must have been infected through a previous blood meal taken on an infected person. When a mosquito bites an infected person, a small amount of blood is taken in which contains microscopic malaria parasites. About 1 week later, when the mosquito takes its next blood meal, these parasites mix with the mosquitos saliva and are injected into the person being bitten. Because the malaria parasite is found in red blood cells of an infected person, malaria can also be transmitted through blood transfusion, organ transplant, or the shared use of needles or syringes contaminated with blood. Malaria may also be transmitted from a mother to her unborn infant before or during delivery (congenital malaria).

Malaria Prevention
Methods used to prevent malaria include medications, mosquito elimination and the prevention of bites. The presence of malaria in an area requires a combination of high human population density, high mosquito population density and high rates of transmission from humans to mosquitoes and from mosquitoes to humans. If any of these is lowered sufficiently, the parasite will eventually disappear from that area. Of course, preventing malaria in the first place is better than needing a cure. If you live in, or will be visiting, an area where the risk for malaria is high, malaria prevention strategies are recommended. Some of these include:

Keeping mosquitoes from biting you, especially at night Wearing insect repellent and long-sleeved clothing if you are outdoors at night Sleeping under bed nets, which are especially effective if they have been treated with insecticide Taking anti-malaria medications for malaria prophylaxis (prevention of spread) Eliminating places around your home where mosquitoes breed Spraying insecticides on your home's walls to kill adult mosquitoes that come inside.

Malaria Cure
There is medicine that may be used as to cure malaria if the disease is treated early enough. Examples of these medications include chloroquine, mefloquine, and quinine. These medicines work by killing the parasite that causes the disease. Although it can be
a fatal disease, illness and death from malaria are largely preventable. In fact, for patients diagnosed early, a cure is possible because one of several medicines that kill the malaria parasite (Plasmodium) can be prescribed.

Curing Malaria With Medications

Specific medications that can be used as a cure include: Chloroquine - Chloroquine phosphate (Aralen ) is a prescription medication

licensed to prevent or treat certain types of malaria infections.

Mefloquine (Lariam)- Mefloquine hydrochloride (Lariam) is a prescription medication
licensed to prevent or treat malaria.

Atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone) Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (Fansidar) Quinine- Quinine sulfate (Qualaquin) is a prescription medication licensed to treat
uncomplicated (or mild) malaria.

Doxycycline- Doxycycline is a prescription antibiotic that is licensed to treat a number of

common bacterial infections.

TYPHOID
Causes of Typhoid
Typhoid is usually transmitted by water or food, in much the same way as cholera. People who are infected excrete live bacteria in their feces and urine. They are usually contagious for a few days before any symptoms develop, so they don't know they need to take extra precautions. If they don't wash their hands properly, the typhoid bacillus can be transferred to food or water and from there to another person. Also, it can be spread directly from person to person via contaminated fingers.

Poor sanitation, contaminated water and infected milk are some of the main factors responsible for typhoid. Flies contaminate the food with germs. People carrying the germs can also spread the disease if they prepare or serve food. Wrong dietary habits and faulty lifestyle lead to accumulation of toxic waste in the body and promotes typhoid fever. Typhoid is common in people who eat more meat and meat products.

Prevention of Typhoid Fever

Implementation of anti-fly measures, proper disposal of sewage, boiling or thorough purification of drinking water and pasteurization of milk are some of the preventive measures.

Cure of Typhoid Fever

Complete bed rest is essential. Patient should be kept on a liquid diet of orange, barley juice and milk. Orange juice, especially, hastens recovery as it increases energy, promotes body immunity and increases urinary output. Administer warm water enema regularly. Apply cold compress to the forehead if temperature rises above 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Alternatively, wrap the body and legs twice with a sheet wrung in cold water and then cover it with a warm material. The pack should be kept for an hour and renewed after every 3 hours. Hot water bottles may be applied to the sides of the body and feet. Fresh fruits and easily digestible foods can be given after once the fever subsides and body temperature comes down to normal. Plain water or unsweetened lemon water can be used for drinking. Gradually start a well-balanced diet.

TUBERCULOSIS
Causes
All cases of TB are passed from person to person via droplets. When someone with TB infection coughs, sneezes, or talks, tiny droplets of saliva or mucus are expelled into the air, which can be inhaled by another person.

Once infectious particles reach the alveoli (small saclike structures in the air spaces in the lungs), another cell, called the macrophage, engulfs the TB bacteria. o Then the bacteria are transmitted to the lymphatic system and bloodstream and spread to other organs occurs. o The bacteria further multiply in organs that have high oxygen pressures, such as the upper lobes of the lungs, the kidneys, bone marrow, and meninges -- the membrane-like coverings of the brain and spinal cord. When the bacteria cause clinically detectable disease, you have TB. People who have inhaled the TB bacteria, but in whom the disease is controlled, are referred to as infected. Their immune system has walled off the organism in an inflammatory focus known as a granuloma. They have no symptoms, frequently have a positive skin test for TB, yet cannot transmit the disease to others. This is referred to as latent tuberculosis infection or LTBI. Risk factors for TB include the following: o HIV infection, o low socioeconomic status, o alcoholism, o homelessness, o crowded living conditions, o diseases that weaken the immune system, o migration from a country with a high number of cases, o and health-care workers.

Cure

Treatment to prevent TB in a single person aims to kill walled-up germs that are doing no damage right now but could break out years from now and become active. o If you should be treated to prevent sickness, your doctor usually prescribes a daily dose of isoniazid (also called INH), an inexpensive TB medicine. o You will take INH for up to a year, with periodic checkups to make sure you are taking it as prescribed and that it is not causing undesirable side effects. In some cases, intolerance or allergic response can mandate an alternative treatment that may go on for 18 months. Treatment also can stop the spread of TB in large populations. o The tuberculosis vaccine, known as bacille Calmette-Gurin (BCG) may prevent the spread of tuberculosis and tuberculous meningitis in children, but the vaccine does not necessarily protect against pulmonary tuberculosis. It can, however, result in a false-positive tuberculin skin test that in many cases can be differentiated by the use of the QuantiFERONTB Gold test mentioned above. o Health officials generally recommend the vaccine in countries or communities where the rate of new infection is greater than 1% per year. BCG is not generally recommended for use in the United States because there is a very low risk of tuberculosis infection. It may be considered for very select patients at high risk for tuberculosis and who meet special criteria.

Prevention
If you test positive for latent TB infection, your doctor may advise you to take medications to reduce your risk of developing active tuberculosis. The only type of tuberculosis that is contagious is the active variety, when it affects the lungs. So if you can prevent your latent tuberculosis from becoming active, you won't transmit tuberculosis to anyone else. Protect your family and friends If you have active TB, keep your germs to yourself. It generally takes a few weeks of treatment with TB medications before you're not contagious anymore. Follow these tips to help keep your friends and family from getting sick:

Stay home. Don't go to work or school or sleep in a room with other people during the first few weeks of treatment for active tuberculosis. Ventilate the room. Tuberculosis germs spread more easily in small closed spaces where air doesn't move. If it's not too cold outdoors, open the windows and use a fan to blow indoor air outside.

Cover your mouth. Use a tissue to cover your mouth anytime you laugh, sneeze or cough. Put the dirty tissue in a bag, seal it and throw it away. Wear a mask. Wearing a surgical mask when you're around other people during the first three weeks of treatment may help lessen the risk of transmission.

Finish your entire course of medication This is the most important step you can take to protect yourself and others from tuberculosis. When you stop treatment early or skip doses, TB bacteria have a chance to develop mutations that allow them to survive the most potent TB drugs. The resulting drug-resistant strains are much more deadly and difficult to treat. Vaccinations In countries where tuberculosis is more common, infants are vaccinated with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine because it can prevent severe tuberculosis in children. The BCG vaccine isn't recommended for general use in the United States because it isn't very effective in adults and it causes a false-positive result on a TB skin test. Researchers are working on developing a more effective TB vaccine.