Some Common Diseases

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Bird Flu
Also called as Avian flu, Avian influenza, H5N1.Birds, just like people, get the flu. Bird flu viruses infect birds, including chickens, other poultry and wild birds such as ducks. Most bird flu viruses can only infect other birds. However, bird flu can pose health risks to people. The first case of a bird flu virus infecting a person directly, H5N1, was in Hong Kong in 1997. Since then, the bird flu virus has spread to birds in countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Human infection is still very rare, but the virus that causes the infection in birds might change, or mutate, to more easily infect humans. This could lead to a pandemic, or a worldwide outbreak of the illness.
During an outbreak of bird flu, people who have contact with infected birds can become sick. It may also be possible to catch bird flu by eating poultry that is not well cooked or through contact with a person who has it. Bird flu can make people very sick or even cause death. There is currently no vaccine.
The symptoms of bird flu in people tend to be similar to the typical flu: fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches. But this flu can also lead to eye infections, pneumonia, and severe coughing and breathing problems.
Migrating birds, like ducks, geese, and swans, can carry and spread the virus to other birds — often across country borders. Some of these migratory birds don't seem to get sick from bird flu, but domesticated birds like chickens and turkeys can die from it.
A bird can get bird flu from another bird by coming into close contact with its infected feces (poop), secretions, or saliva. Birds can also get sick if they come into contact with dirt, cages, or any surfaces that have been contaminated by sick birds. That's why researchers think live bird markets, where birds are kept in close quarters, are places where the virus has spread quickly.
In most places, there is no immediate threat to humans from bird flu. The best way to protect yourself is by doing the same things you do to protect yourself from any contagious illness. No matter where you live and how healthy you are, be sure to thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water many times a day, particularly after going to the bathroom and before preparing meals and eating.
Wash your hands frequently if you're around someone who is sick. Don't share that person's food or eating utensils. It's also a good idea to wash your hands if you've touched a surface that lots of people have been using, such as a door handle.
You can also protect yourself by taking proper food safety precautions. For example, never eat undercooked or uncooked poultry. Separate raw meat from cooked or ready-to-eat foods. And don't use the same cutting boards, knives, or utensils that are used on uncooked meats on other foods.


Pollen allergy

An allergy is sensitivity to a normally harmless substance, one that does not bother most people. The allergen (the foreign substance that provokes a reaction) can be a food, dust particles, a drug, insect venom, or mold spores, as well as pollen. Allergic people often have sensitivity to more than one substance.
Plants produce the microscopic round or oval grains called pollen in order to reproduce. The types of pollen that most commonly cause allergic reactions are produced by the plain-looking plants (trees, grasses, and weeds) that do not have showy flowers. These plants manufacture small, light, dry pollen granules that are custom-made for wind transport; for example, samples of ragweed pollen have been collected 400 miles out at sea and 2 miles high in the air. Because airborne pollen is carried for long distances, it does little good to rid an area of an offending plant - the pollen can drift in from many miles away.
In addition, most allergenic (allergy-producing) pollen comes from plants that produce it in huge quantities - a single ragweed plant can generate a million grains of pollen a day.
Each plant has a pollinating period that is more or less the same from year to year. Exactly when a plant starts to pollinate seems to depend on the relative length of night and day - and therefore on geographical location - rather than on the weather. (On the other hand, weather conditions during pollination can affect the amount of pollen produced and distributed in a specific year.) Thus, the farther north you go, the later the pollinating period and the later the allergy season.
The signs and symptoms of pollen allergy are familiar to many:
• Sneezing, the most common, may be accompanied by a runny or clogged nose
• Itching eyes, nose, and throat
• Allergic shiners (dark circles under the eyes caused by restricted blood flow near the sinuses)
• The "allergic salute" (in a child, persistent upward rubbing of the nose that causes a crease mark on the nose)
• Watering eyes
• Conjunctivitis (an inflammation of the membrane that lines the eyelids, causing red-rimmed eyes).
There are three general approaches to the treatment of pollen allergy; avoidance of the allergen, medication to relieve symptoms, and immunotherapy or injection treatments (commonly called allergy shots). Although no cure for pollen allergy has yet been found, one of these strategies or a combination of them can provide various degrees of relief from allergy symptoms.

Dengue

Dengue is the most widespread mosquito-borne infection in human beings, which in recent years has become a major international public health concern. Over the last 15 years, we have witnessed a dramatic increase in the global incidence of dengue and its severe manifestations such as dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Dengue fever is a severe, flu-like illness with fever, headache and muscle and joint pains that affects children and adults, but seldom causes death.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is a potentially deadly complication in about 1-3% of cases that begins with a sudden rise in temperature which usually continues for two to seven days and can be as high as 40-41°C. In moderate DHF cases, all signs and symptoms abate after the fever subside. In severe cases, the patient's condition may suddenly deteriorate after a few days of fever when the temperature drops, followed by signs of circulatory failure. With modern intensive supportive therapy, the fatality rates can be reduced to less than 1%.

How is Dengue spread?

Dengue is spread through the bite of an infected Aedes Aegypti mosquito. The mosquito gets the virus by biting an infected person. The first symptoms of the disease occur about 5-7 days after the infected bite. There is no way to tell if a mosquito is carrying the Dengue virus. Therefore, people must protect themselves from all mosquito bites.

How can we prevent Dengue?

Prevent mosquito bites
o Dengue mosquitoes bite during the daytime - protect yourself from the bite.
o Wear full-sleeve clothes and long dresses to cover the limbs. Avoid wearing black color.
o Use repellents. Care should be taken in using repellents on very young children or the elderly
o Use mosquito coils and electric vapor mats during the daytime to prevent mosquito bites
o Use insecticide treated nets (ITNs) to protect young children, pregnant women, old people, in addition to others who may rest during the day.
o Curtains (cloth or bamboo) can also be treated with insecticide and hung at windows or doorways, to repel or kill mosquitoes.

Where do mosquitoes live and breed?

Dengue mosquitoes breed in stored, exposed, water collection systems. The favoured breeding places are: barrels, drums, jars, pots, buckets, flower vases, plant saucers, tanks, discarded bottles/tins, tyres, or water coolers, and other places where rainwater collects or is stored. The mosquito eggs become adults in about 10 days.
o Drain out the water from window air coolers when not in use, as well as draining all unused tanks, barrels, drums, and buckets.
o Remove all objects containing water such as plant saucers from the house.
o All stored water containers should be kept covered at all times.
o Collect and destroy discarded containers in which water collects, such as bottles, plastic bags, tins, tyres, etc.
o Efficient disposal of all solid waste/garbage.

How should we take care of a Dengue patient?

• Keep body temperature below 39oC. Give the patient paracetamol (not more than four times in 24 hours). Fever can also be reduced by sponging patient with tepid water.
• Do not give the patient Aspirin or Ibuprofen (Brufen) or similar medicine for fever or pain. Give only paracetamol.
• Give large amounts of fluids (water, soups, milk and juices) along with the patient’s normal diet
• The patient should rest
• Immediately consult your physician if any of the following manifestations appear: Red spots or points on the skin; bleeding from the nose or gums; frequent vomiting; vomiting with blood; black stools; sleepiness; constant crying; abdominal pain; excessive thirst (dry mouth); pale, cold or clammy skin; or difficulty in breathing.

Swine flu

Swine flu (swine influenza) H1N1 flu, is a respiratory disease caused by viruses (influenza viruses) that infect the respiratory tract of pigs and result in nasal secretions, a barking-like cough, decreased appetite, and listless behavior. Swine flu produces most of the same symptoms in pigs as human flu produces in people. Swine flu can last about one to two weeks in pigs that survive. Swine influenza virus was first isolated from pigs in 1930.
Symptoms of swine flu are similar to most influenza infections: fever (100F or greater), cough, nasal secretions, fatigue, and headache, with fatigue being reported in most infected individuals. Some patients also get nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Patients can get pneumonia (bacterial secondary infection) if the viral infection persists, and some can develop seizures. Death often occurs from secondary bacterial infection of the lungs; appropriate antibiotics need to be used in these patients.
The best treatment for influenza infections in humans is prevention by vaccination. Work by several laboratories has recently produced vaccines. The first vaccine released in early October 2009 was a nasal spray vaccine.