COMMON HUMAN DISEASES

A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and effects. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease , or it may be of autoimmune type. In human beings, "disease" is often used more broadly to refer to any condition that causes pain, dysfunction, distress, social problems, and/or death to the person afflicted, or similar problems for those in contact with the person. In this broader sense, it sometimes includes injuries, disabilities, disorders, syndromes, infections, isolated symptoms.

Classification:
Classification of diseases is often done based on the mode of transmission,symptoms and disorders caused by it.Infectious diseases are those which are clinically evident and result from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions. Non-infectious diseases are all other diseases, including most forms of heart diseases, genetic diseases and sexually transmitted disesae.The non-infectious diseases are often caused because of the impairements in the human body such as obesity,over-weightness and abnormal gene combination

DISEASE

Infectious disease

Non-infectious
disease

Bacteria

Fungi

Virus

Microbes

EPIDEMIC

ENDEMIC

PANDEMIC

Human diseases which are found to be deadliest worldwide are 1) Swine influenza 2) SAARS 3) POLIOMYELITIS 4) tuberculosis.

Swine influenza is an infection caused in humans from pigs. As of 2009, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infectionSymptoms of zoonotic swine flu in humans are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general, namely chillness, fever, sore throat ,muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort.

Classification:
Of the three genera of influenza viruses that cause human flu,influenza a is common in pigs and Influenza c being rare. Influenza B has not been reported in pigs. Within influenza A and influenza C, the strains found in pigs and humans are largely distinct, although because of reassortment there have been transfers of genes among strains crossing swine, avian, and human species boundaries. Influenza C viruses infect both humans and pigs, but do not infect birds.Swine influenza is known to be caused by influenza A type. Subtypes are H1N1, H1N2, H2N3, H3N1, and H3N2. In pigs, three influenza A virus subtypes (H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2) are the most common strains worldwide

Transmission:

Transmission between pigs

Influenza is quite common in pigs, with about half of breeding pigs having been exposed to the virus
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worldwide.The main route of transmission is through direct contact between infected and uninfected animals. These close contacts are particularly common during animal transport. Intensive farming may also increase the risk of transmission, as the pigs are raised in very close proximity to each other. The direct transfer of the virus probably occurs either by pigs touching noses, or through dried mucus. Airborne transmission through the aerosols produced by pigs coughing or sneezing are also an important means of infection.This happens within days of infection.

Transmission to humans
People who work with poultry and swine, especially people with intense exposures, are at increased risk of zoonotic infection with influenza virus endemic in these animals, and constitute a population of human hosts in which zoonosis and reassortment can co-occur. Vaccination of these persons is therfore an essentiality.

Interaction with avian H5N1 in pigs

Pigs are unusual as they can be infected with influenza strains that usually infect three different species: pigs, birds and humans. This makes pigs a host where influenza viruses might exchange genes, producing new and dangerous strains

Main symptoms of swine flu :

In humans
Direct transmission of a swine flu virus from pigs to humans is occasionally possible (called zoonotic swine flu). Generally this disease occurs when agent is less immune or occurs along as secondary infection.

In swine
In pigs influenza infection produces fever, lethargy, difficulty in breathing and decreased appetite. In some cases the infection can cause abortion. Although mortality is usually low (around 1 4%), the virus can produce weight loss and poor growth, causing economic loss to farmers. Infected pigs can lose up to 12 pounds of body weight over a 3 to 4 week period.

Prevention:
Prevention of swine influenza has three components: prevention in swine, prevention of transmission to humans, and prevention of its spread among humans.

In swine
Methods of preventing the spread of influenza among swine include facility management, herd management, and vaccination. Because much of the illness and death associated with swine flu involves secondary infection.Facility management includes using disinfectants and ambient temperature to control virus in the environment. The virus is unlikely to survive outside living cells for more than two weeks, except in cold (but above freezing) conditions, and it is readily inactivated by disinfectants. Herd management includes not adding pigs carrying influenza to herds that have not been exposed to the virus. The virus survives in healthy carrier pigs for up to 3 months.Prevention mainly involves culling of infected animals and isolation of infected humans.

In humans Prevention of pig to human transmission

Although strains of swine influenza are usually not able to infect humans, farmers and veterinarians are encouraged to use a face mask when dealing with infected animals. The use of vaccines on swine to prevent their infection is a major method of limitingswine to human transmission.

Prevention of human to human transmission

Influenza spreads between humans through coughing or sneezing and people touching something with the virus on it and then touching their own nose or mouth. virus is not transmitted through food.Thermal imaging, camera & screen, photography are used for detecting pateints . Thermal imaging can detect elevated body temperature, one of the signs of the virus N1H1 (Swine influenza )in airports.Social distancing is another tactic.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SAARS)is a

respiratory disease in humans which is caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV).But, SAARS is claimed tobe eradicated as vaccine is However, SARS is not claimed to have been eradicated (unlike smallpox), as it may still be present in its natural host reservoirs (animal populations) and may potentially return into the human population in the future. .

SARS CORONAVIRUS:

Coronaviruses are positive-strand, enveloped RNA viruses that are important pathogens of mammals and birds. This group of viruses cause enteric or respiratory tract infections in a variety of animals including humans, livestock and pets.

Signs and symptoms

Initial symptoms are flu-like and may include: fever, myalgia, lethargy, gastrointestinal symptoms, cough, sore throat and other non-specific symptoms. The only symptom that is common to all patients appears to be a fever above 38 C (100.4 F). Shortness of breath may occur later.

DIAGNOSIS:
A chest x-ray showing increased opacity in both lungs, indicative of pneumonia, in a patient with SARS. SARS may be suspected in a patient who has: 1)Any of the symptoms, including a fever of 38 C (100.4 F) or higher, and 2) Contact with someone with a diagnosis of SARS within the last 10 days and travel to region where SAARS is in abundance.

Treatment
Antibiotics are ineffective as SARS is a viral disease. Treatment of SARS so far has been largely supportive with antipyretics, supplemental oxygen and ventilatory support as needed.Suspected cases of SARS must be isolated, preferably in negative pressure rooms, with complete barrier nursing precautions taken for any necessary contact with these patients... Currently, Corticosteroids and Ribavirin are the most common drugs used for treatment of SARS

Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route. Although around 90% of polio infections cause no symptoms at all, affected individuals can exhibit a range of symptoms if the virus enters the blood stream. Different types of paralysis may occur, depending on the nerves involved. Spinal polio is the most common form, characterized by asymmetric paralysis that most often involves the legs. Bulbar polio leads to weakness of muscles innervated by cranial nerves. Bulbospinal polio is a combination of bulbar and spinal paralysis. Poliovirus was identified in 1908 by Karl Landsteiner.By 1910, much of the world experienced a dramatic increase in polio cases .This led to discover of a new vaccine for polio.

POLIO LIFE CYCLE

Cause
Poliomyelitis is caused by infection with a member of the genus Enterovirus known as poliovirus (PV). This group of RNA viruses prefers to inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. There are three types of serotypes and PV causes disease in humans
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alone..Individuals who are exposed to the virus, either through infection or by immunization with polio vaccine, develop immunity. Infection or vaccination with one serotype of poliovirus does not provide immunity against the other serotypes, and full immunity requires exposure to each serotype.

Transmission:
Poliomyelitis is highly contagious and spreads easily by human-to-human contact. In endemic areas, wild polioviruses can infect virtually the entire human population. Virus particles are excreted in the faeces for several weeks following initial infection in the host. The disease is transmitted primarily via the fecal-oral route, by ingesting contaminated food or water. It is occasionally transmitted via the oral-oral route, a mode especially visible in areas with good sanitation and hygiene. . Although the virus can cross the placenta during pregnancy, the fetus does not appear to be affected by either maternal infection or polio vaccination.

Paralytic polio: Paralysis generally develops one to ten days

after early symptoms begin, progresses for two to three days, and is usually complete by the time the fever breaks.

Spinal polio: Spinal polio is the most common form of

paralytic poliomyelitis; it results from viral invasion of the motor neurons. With the destruction of nerve cells, the muscles no longer receive signals from the brain or spinal cord and finally completely paralyzed.Progression to maximum paralysis is rapid (two to four days), and is usually associated with fever and muscle pain.

Bulbar polio: Making up about 2% of cases of paralytic polio,

bulbar polio occurs when poliovirus invades and destroys nerves within the bulbar region of the brain stem. The bulbar region is a white matter pathway that connects the cerebral cortex to the brain stem producing symptoms of encephalitis, and causes difficulty breathing, speaking and swallowing

Bulbospinal Polio: Approximately 19% of all paralytic polio

cases have both bulbar and spinal symptoms; this subtype is called respiratory polio or bulbospinal polio. It can lead to paralysis of
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the arms and legs and may also affect swallowing and heart functions.

Diagnosis
Paralytic poliomyelitis may be clinically suspected in individuals experiencing acute onset of flaccid paralysis in one or more limbs with decreased or absent tendon reflexes in the affected limbs

PREVENTION
Passive immunization In 1950, William Hammon purified the gamma globulin component of the blood plasma of polio survivors. He proposed that the gamma globulin, which contained antibodies to poliovirus, could be used to halt poliovirus infection, prevent disease, and reduce the severity of disease in other patients who had contracted polio..

Vaccine
Two types of vaccines are used throughout the world to combat polio. Both types induce immunity to polio, efficiently blocking person-to-person transmission of wild poliovirus, thereby protecting both individual vaccine recipientsand the wider community (so-called herd immunity). The Salk vaccine, or inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), is based on poliovirus grown in a type of monkey kidney tissue culture, which is chemically inactivated with formalin. After two doses of IPV (given by injection), 90% or more of individuals develop protective antibody to all three serotypes of poliovirus, and at least 99% are immune to poliovirus following three doses . Vaccine produces excellent immunity in the intestine (which helps prevent infection with wild virus in areas where it is endemic.

Tuberculosis or TB (short for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis in humans. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. It is spread through the air, when people who
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have the disease cough, sneeze, or spit. If left untreated, kills more than 50% of its victims.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

The classic symptoms are a chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Infection of other organs causes a wide range of symptoms. Diagnosis: relies on radiology (commonly chest X-rays), a tuberculin skin test, blood tests, as well as microscopic examination and microbiological culture of bodily fluids.

Transmission
When people suffering from active pulmonary TB cough, sneeze, speak, or spit, they expel infectious aerosol droplets 0.5 to 5 m in diameter. A single sneeze can release up to 40,000 droplets. Each one of these droplets may transmit the disease, since the infectious dose of tuberculosis is very low and inhaling less than ten bacteria may cause an infection. People with prolonged, frequent, or intense contact are at particularly high risk of becoming infected, with an estimated 22% infection rate. A person with active but untreated tuberculosis can infect 1015 other people per year. Transmission can only occur from people with active TB.The probability of transmission from one person to another depends upon the number of infectious droplets.If someone does become infected, then it will take at least 21 days, or three to four weeks, before the newly infected person can transmit the disease to others. TB can also be transmitted by eating meat infected with TB. Mycobacterium bovis causes TB in cattle.

Causes
The primary cause of TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a small aerobic non-motile bacillus. High lipid content of this pathogen accounts for many of its unique clinical characteristics. It divides every 16 to 20 hours, an extremely slow rate compared with other bacteria, which usually divide in less than an hour. In nature, the bacterium can grow only within the cells of a host organism, but M. tuberculosis can be cultured in vitro.Other known pathogenic mycobacteria include Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium avium and M. kansasii. The last two are part of the nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) group.

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Prevention
TB prevention and control takes two parallel approaches. In the first, people with TB and their contacts are identified and then treated. Identification of infections often involves testing highrisk groups for TB. In the second approach, children are vaccinated to protect them from TB. No vaccine is available that provides reliable protection for adults. However, in tropical areas where the levels of other species of mycobacteria are high, exposure to nontuberculous mycobacteria gives some protection against TB.

Vaccines
Several new vaccines to prevent TB infection are being developed. The first recombinant tuberculosis vaccine rBCG30 which can accelerate the disappearance of bacteria as well as protect against re-infection in mice. A very promising TB vaccine, MVA85A, is currently in phase II trials and is based on a genetically modified vaccinia virus.

Treatment
Treatment for TB uses antibiotics to kill the bacteria. Effective TB treatment is difficult, due to the unusual structure and chemical composition of the mycobacterial cell wall, which makes many antibiotics ineffective and hinders the entry of drugs. TB requires much longer periods of treatment (around 6 to 24 months) to entirely eliminate mycobacteria from the body. Latent TB treatment usually uses a single antibiotic, while active TB disease is best treated with combinations of several . The above mentioned diseases are controlled by the discovery of vaccines but the second phase of these diseases is possible and it will be in a larger epidemic scale.Therefore, there is a need for a healthy environment for a healthy life.

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