Malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Malaria is caused by parasites from the genus Plasmodium which is spread to people by infected mosquitoes. There are five species of Plasmodium that can infect humans.

Sporozoites are the form that is injected by the mosquito into humans. Infection begins with a bite from an infected mosquito. After being injected into the human host by the mosquito, the parasite travels into the bloodstream and eventually makes its way to the liver, where the parasite begins to reproduce and develop into merozoites. The merozoites leave the liver and enter red blood cells to reproduce. Soon, new parasites burst out in search of new red blood cells to infect.

Sometimes, the reproducing Plasmodia will create a form known as a gametocyte in the human bloodstream, which is infectious to mosquitoes. If a mosquito takes a blood meal when gametocytes are present, the parasite begins to reproduce in the insect and create sporozite forms that are infectious to people, completing the life cycle.

Symptoms of Malaria:

Symptoms of malaria can develop as quickly as seven days after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito. Typically, the incubation period (the time between being infected and when symptoms start) is 10 to 15 days. However, in some cases it can take up to a year for symptoms to develop.

The initial symptoms of malaria are flu-like and include a fever, headache, sweats, chills and vomiting. This is often mild and can sometimes be difficult to identify as malaria. Other symptoms of malaria include:

1) muscle pains

2) generally feeling unwell

3) diarrhea

With some types of malaria, the fever occurs in four-to-eight hour cycles. Patients feel cold at first with shivering that lasts for up to an hour. They then develop a fever that lasts for two-to-six hours, accompanied by severe sweating.

Seek medical advice immediately is important for people who develop the symptoms of malaria, even if it is several weeks, months or a year after you return from travelling.

Rheumatic Fever

Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that can happen after a person becomes infected with the Streptococcus bacteria. Rheumatic fever was once a common cause of heart problems in childhood. It remains a serious childhood health problem in many developing countries. It is most frequent in children aged 5 to 15 years old, but can also affect adults and children younger than 5 years of age.

Symptoms of Rheumatic fever are given as under:

Rheumatic fever symptoms may vary. The symptoms may change during the course of the disease. The onset of rheumatic fever usually occurs about two to four weeks after a strep throat infection.

Rheumatic fever signs result from inflammation in the heart, joints, skin or central nervous system. It may also include:

• 1) Fever
• 2) Painful and tender joints — most often the ankles, knees, elbows or wrists; less often the shoulders, hips, hands and feet
• 3) Small, painless nodules beneath the skin
• 4) Chest pain
• 5) Pain in one joint that migrates to another joint
• 6) Red, hot or swollen joints
• 7) Sensation of rapid, fluttering or pounding heartbeats (palpitations)
• 8) Fatigue
• 9) Shortness of breath
• 10) Flat or slightly raised, painless rash

Treatment for rheumatic fever involves eliminating the bacteria with penicillin, erythromycin, or azithromycin. Further treatment focuses on alleviating the symptoms brought on by the body's immunologic response to the bacteria.

Typhoid

Typhoid fever is an infection that causes diarrhea and a rash -- most commonly due to a type of bacteria called Salmonella typhi (S. typhi). The bacteria that cause typhoid fever -- S. typhi -- spread through contaminated food, drink, or water. The bacteria enter your body if you eat or drink something that is contaminated. They travel into intestines, and then into bloodstream, where they can get to lymph nodes, gallbladder, liver, spleen, and other parts of the body.

A few people can become carriers of S. typhi and continue to release the bacteria in their stools for years, spreading the disease. Typhoid fever is common in developing countries. Most cases in the developed nations are brought in from other countries where typhoid fever is common.

The exact cause of atopic eczema is unknown. However, it often occurs in people who get allergies ("atopic" means sensitivity to allergens).It can run in families and often occurs alongside other conditions, such as asthma and hay fever.

Symptoms

Early symptoms include fever, general ill-feeling, and abdominal pain. A high (typically over 103 degrees Fahrenheit) fever and severe diarrhea occur as the disease gets worse.

Some people with typhoid fever develop a rash called "rose spots," which are small red spots on the abdomen and chest.

Other symptoms that occur include:

• 1) Abdominal tenderness
• 2) Agitation
• 3) Bloody stools
• 4) Chills
• 5) Confusion
• 6) Delirium
• 7) Hallucinations
• 8) Nosebleeds
• 9) Severe fatigue
• 10) Weakness

Exams and Tests

• 1) A complete blood count (CBC) will show a high number of white blood cells.
• 2) A blood culture during the first week of the fever can show S. typhi bacteria.

Other tests that can help diagnose this condition include:

• 1) ELISA urine test to look for the bacteria that cause Typhoid fever
• 2) Fluorescent antibody study to look for substances that are specific to Typhoid bacteria
• 3) Platelet count (platelet count will be low)
• 4) Stool culture

Treatment

• 1) Fluids and electrolytes may be given through a vein (intravenously), or you may be asked to drink uncontaminated water with electrolyte packets.
• 2) Appropriate antibiotics are given to kill the bacteria. There are increasing rates of antibiotic resistance throughout the world, so your health care provider will check current recommendations before choosing an antibiotic.

Prognosis

Symptoms usually improve in 2 to 4 weeks with treatment. The outcome is likely to be good with early treatment, but becomes poor if complications develop.

• 1) Symptoms may return if the treatment has not completely cured the infection.
• 2) Possible Complications
• 3) Intestinal hemorrhage (severe GI bleeding)
• 4) Intestinal perforation
• 5) Kidney failure
• 6) Peritonitis

Immunization is not always completely effective and at-risk travelers should drink only boiled or bottled water and eat well-cooked food. Studies of an oral live attenuated typhoid vaccine are now under way and appear promising.