The Encyclopedia of Infectious Diseases

Christine Adamec, P.H. Chandrasekar

Description

In recent decades, many germs affecting humans, such as Ebola, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), SARS, West Nile virus, and Zika, have spread or changed to pose a growing danger to the world. To make matters worse, measles and whooping cough, diseases once considered on the verge of elimination, have had a resurgence in part because disinformation about vaccines has made some people reluctant to vaccinate themselves or their children. Year after year antibiotics, medicine's frontline defense against bacterial pathogens, prove less effective as bacterial strains mutate and evolve. At the same time, the number of people in the U.S. with sexually transmitted diseases is rising after many years of declining. There is no doubt that infectious diseases pose a constant risk to public health and well-being.

The Encyclopedia of Infectious Diseases provides comprehensive and up-to-date information on this topic, including the latest information about new viral and bacterial threats, the spread of diseases, treatments, preventive measures (including vaccines), and the future outlook for public health.

Entries include:

• chicken pox and shingles


• Ebola


• E. coli


• encephalitis


• foodborne pathogens


• hepatitis


• human papillomavirus (HPV)


• influenza (flu)


• Lyme disease


• malaria


• tuberculosis


• West Nile virus


• Zika

Sujets

• Santé au quotidien
• Santé au quotidien
• Science
• Fitness
• Health
• Disease
• Infectious disease
• Medicine
• Treatment
• Diagnosis
• Diagnóstico
• Medical
• Infectious Diseases

Informations

• Publié par: Infobase Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 mars 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438194288
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Encyclopedia of Infectious Diseases
Copyright © 2020 by Infobase
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information, contact:
Facts On File An imprint of Infobase 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001
ISBN 978-1-4381-9428-8
You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at http://www.infobase.com
Contents Foreword Entries amebiasis antibiotics and antibiotic resistance antivirals bacteria Campylobacter Chagas disease chicken pox chlamydia cholera common childhood infections common cold coronavirus Cryptosporidium diphtheria dysentery E. coli Ebola Epstein-Barr virus Giardia​ gonorrhea Haemophilus influenzae Hansen s disease head lice Helicobacter pylori hepatitis a, b, c, d, and e herpes homelessness and infectious disease hospital-associated infections human immunodeficiency virus human papilloma virus (HPV) infections and drug abuse infectious diseases infectious diseases in the elderly influenza Legionnaire’s disease listeriosis Lyme disease malaria measles meningitis mononucleosis mumps non-typhoidal Salmonella Norovirus pandemic pertussis plague pneumonia polio protozoan rabies respiratory synctial virus rubella sexually transmitted diseases Shigella shingles smallpox Staphylococcus aureus Streptococcus syphilis tetanus travel clinics trichomoniasis tuberculosis typhoid typhus vaccines viruses West Nile virus yellow fever virus Zika virus Support Materials American Academy of Pediatrics American Medical Association Center for Global Infectious Diseases Research Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Foundation of Infectious Diseases National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseaes World Health Organization Index
Foreword
Multiple infectious diseases have afflicted humans for millennia, and microbial pathogens will continue to plague people for the foreseeable future. Modern scientists do their best to keep pace with treatments as well as preventive measures for older infections as well as for “newer” problems such as the human immunodeficiency virus, Ebola, Lyme disease, and many other infections that exist in our milieu.
In fact, there are likely thousands of infectious ailments that could be written about, but it is impossible to cover them all in one reasonably sized work. As a result, as an infectious diseases expert, I have chosen a sampling of the major infections that affect people in the United States and the world, including some older diseases as well as key newer infections. In some cases, infections are both old and new; for example, measles was ostensibly eradicated in the United States in 2000, but in 2019 and 2020 like an old monster thought to be long dead, it rises again.
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) represent another escalating problem in the United States, with a heartbreaking rise in infants born with syphilis. Adolescents and young adults represent the greatest numbers of those infected with STDs. Other infections are rare in the United States, but they remain problematic in developing countries, such as yellow fever, typhus, and typhoid fever.
Some infections can prove fatal to both the very young and the very old, such as pneumonia or influenza which may evolve into pneumonia.
This work offers historical information when possible; for example, the essay on vaccines starts with the discovery of the cowpox virus by Dr. Edward Jenner in 1796 as a means to avert a smallpox outbreak that destroyed so many lives in the past. In addition, other diseases such as yellow fever, cholera, and diphtheria, once terrorized and killed many people worldwide. Probably the most infamous infectious disease of all time is the Black Plague, a pandemic that claimed millions of lives, decimating the global population in what became the Dark Ages.
For each infectious disease, I have identified the primary culprit, whether bacterial, viral, protozoan, or other entity, and have discussed the key symptoms and signs of each infection as well as explained how these infections are diagnosed and treated. I also have described the means by which many (but not all) infections may be avoided or their incidences reduced.
There are many global areas of infectious diseases that need to be addressed by physicians, scientists, and government leaders. With economic growth comes new problems. For example urbanization and deforestation contribute to the increase in tick-borne infections such as Lyme disease and others. Globalization and international travel propel the risk of rapidly spreading infectious diseases like the Zika virus throughout the world. Industrialization, both in the past and in the present, contributes to crowded living and poor sanitation, which in turn leads to an increase in homelessness and the spread of hepatitis, typhoid, diphtheria, Ebola, and other diseases. Poverty associated with poor sanitary conditions results in an increase in food and waterborne infections and disease outbreaks of cholera and measles. Poor nutrition leads to immune deficiencies resulting in increased risks for infection. Climate changes result in tropical diseases moving into more temperate zones, as with the Zika virus. Violence, natural catastrophes (such as earthquakes and floods), and man-made calamities lead to the displacement of people who are compelled to live in camps with poor sanitary conditions.
The opioid epidemic in the United States has led to increases in such infections as hepatitis, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and other sexually transmitted diseases. Ironically, the means to radically decrease the transmission of HIV alone is present in terms of medications for individuals already infected as well as preventive drugs for those at risk—yet many people do not know they have HIV and consequently are not treated. Others do know but apparently have insufficient access to healthcare. Current drugs remarkably can reduce the HIV virus level to undetectable levels in the blood—but people with HIV need to be identified, the medications must be prescribed, and they need to be taken by infected individuals. Unfortunately, the stigma of HIV, although less onerous than in past years, is still present in the United States and other countries.
Another key global problem is antibiotic resistance and there is an increasing number of multidrug resistant organisms, such as tuberculosis, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus aureus . At the same time, pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to spend money on developing newer antibiotics because of the low return on investment since antibiotics courses are used for short periods. In contrast, medications for chronic illnesses are frequently used lifelong. It is also hoped that non-drug interventions (such as phage therapy) are discovered through research.
Last, there is a decreasing use of key vaccines because of the "anti-vaxxer" movement, which mistakenly attributes afflictions such as autism to vaccines. This has already led to a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases and this problem will only increase unless it is resolved. It would be tragic to return to the days when children die or are damaged for life from preventable diseases like polio, diphtheria, and other ailments for which we have had a means of prevention for many years. Pediatricians and other physicians as well as government leaders should band together and speak out against this injustice to children in the United States and the world, shedding light on the encroaching darkness of ignorance.
We have attempted to cover most of these problems and encourage readers to further educate themselves on these pivotal issues affecting the people of the world.
I hope that readers will find what they seek in this compendium of infectious diseases.

Pranatharthi Chandrasekar, M.D. Chief, Infectious Diseases Wayne State University
Entry Author: Chandrasekar, P.H., M.D and Christine Adamec.
Entries
amebiasis
Sometimes referred to as amebic dysentery. A common and serious infectious disease of the colon that is caused by the protozoan, Entamoeba histolytica . This pathogen was first identified and described by Russian scientist F. Aleksandrovich Losch in 1875. The protozoan is primarily transmitted through the consumption of contaminated food or water and may also be transmitted by flies to contaminated water or food. In addition, amebiasis may be contracted by men who have sex with men. Amebiasis is also common among travelers to countries where the infection is prevalent, such as Africa, Asia, and South America. There are no vaccines to protect against amebiasis.
Symptoms and Diagnostic Path
Severe watery and sometimes bloody diarrhea is the most common symptom of amebiasis. Some infected individuals also develop a liver abscess. However, an estimated 90 percent of those who are infected with amebiasis have no symptoms. If the parasite is discovered in the stool sample of a person with no symptoms, it should be treated because the person may develop symptoms later. Such a discovery may occur if a person has a colonoscopy (an internal inspection of the colon, performed routinely in older individuals or those with colonic symptoms). A stool or blood test is best to confirm the diagnosis.
In addition to severe diarrhea, other symptoms of amebiasis may include the following: abdominal pain abdominal cramping weight loss fever flatulence (farting) gas fatigue
Amebiasis is diagnosed with stool tests and sometimes may be diagnosed with blood tests. It can also be diagnosed with a colonoscopy.
If a liver abscess is present, this condition may be diagnosed with imaging tests, such as ultrasound or computed tomography scans (CTs). Some people may also develop infection in their lungs or even the brain.
Treatment Options and Outlook
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