Particularly dangerous infectious diseases

The most dangerous infections – the list classification

Highly infectious diseases (OOI, quarantine infections), lurk everywhere, presenting an extraordinary risk. Some of them are the young of a previously known infectious agents!

These dangerous infections to penetrate into the human body, invading cells and causing unpleasant disease. Viruses, which are known in history, has never been so dangerous and aggressive as it is today. They can be transmitted from person to person, from animal to animal, but the new transmission method includes increasingly apparent, the path from animal to human.

The most frequent way of transmission of dangerous infections:

• Through contaminated food.
• Through contact with an infected person.
• By sexual contact.
• Airborne droplets.

Increasingly more than the bacteria, the man threatened proliferating the viruses.

Virus is a biological system, infecting living cells in biological organisms belonging to non-cellular organisms. The virus inserts its own genetic material into human cells. Infected cells burst and die. In the environment, produced the newly created viruses that infect other cells.

The list of particularly dangerous infections, which describes not a historical document, in the past took millions of lives. These include plague, Spanish influenza, rabies etc. of Infection, especially dangerous threatening population in developed countries, can be classified as "diseases of civilization": AIDS/HIV, hepatitis, HPV (human papilloma virus), and avian and swine flu. Some viruses cause inflammatory diseases, others – some types of cancer, the worst of them can lead to a painful death…

Characteristics of especially dangerous infections

Ebola

The Ebola virus emerged in 1976 on a farm in Reston, a monkey, and a second time in 1989 in the U.S. state of Texas. Ebola belongs to a group of viruses that are able to induce high hemorrhagic fever, associated with great pain and internal bleeding. Among humans the virus is transmitted, especially in third world countries through direct contact with infected body fluids.

Currently, the virus is also not completely lost the threat, as it is characterized by instability, and could mutate at any time. To date, there are 4 strains of the virus. Against him while no effective vaccine, treatment or prevention, although attempts to invent a cure among virologists are a priority.

Plague

The plague (English name – plague, black death) is a bacterial disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia Pestis. In a figurative sense also called the word General definition any infection with significant impact on the population due to the deadliness of the plague that took lives mostly in the 16th-17th century. The first mention of the occurrence of the bubonic form of the disease comes more from the reign of Justinian I in the year 541 in Constantinople, i.e., the largest city in Europe.

Currently in our country, as throughout Europe, this disease is virtually absent, however, are still reported cases of infection in North and South America, South and South-East Asia and Africa.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia Pestis (plague Bacillus), which is the number of rod-shaped gram-negative bacteria. This disease occurs in three main forms: bubonic, septic and pneumonic plague (pneumonic form).

A carrier of the bubonic plague are different types of fleas (Pulex irritans, Xenopsylla cheopis). Fleas are usually infected by infected rodents (especially rats). Interestingly, rodents are themselves manifestations of the disease do not suffer.

Smallpox

The smallpox virus (variola major) belongs to the group of orthopoxviruses. Smallpox is most often transmitted infection or through adirect contact with infected skin. The risk of mortality in the past was around 40%.

History of vaccination against smallpox dates back to the 18th century when English physician Edward Jenner found that people infected with the vaccinia virus, become immune to the virus.

In the past, smallpox took the lives of a large number of people, we can say that even more than any other infectious disease. Thanks to the vaccination programme of the who the disease was vanquished in 1979 for the last time, paradoxically, the smallpox appeared in 1997 in Africa, and it is still unknown where the "lost" 200 tons of chemical warfare agents containing the smallpox virus, which was owned during the war by the former Soviet Union.

Question about use of smallpox virus as a biological weapon causing many countries urgent need for the production of necessary vaccines.

HIV-AIDS

AIDS is the most serious sexually transmitted disease that is currently called HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Is a disaster for the society of the 21st century because, despite the fact that already in the last century, scientists have studied the structure of the HIV virus better than the Ebola virus, is still there against him effective drugs or even drug that could prevent the lethal outcome of this disaster.

Dangerous retrovirus HIV was discovered and first described in 1981, HIV Transmission occurs most often in any type of sexual contact. Among drug users transmission occurs through the blood, infection can also be transmitted via body fluids (breast milk, semen).

The highest rate of occurrence of this insidious disease, according to statistics, paradoxically, present on the Islands, they dream of all the lovers in Bermuda and the Bahamas.

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis is a serious social and medical problem not only in our country but in the world. It is assumed that in the world are infected with hepatitis C virus approximately 180 million people. The danger lies in the fact that against hepatitis C, in contrast to types A and b, no vaccine. Currently, however, available drugs that with timely diagnosis in most patients can cure the disease. Hepatitis C virus is smaller than the wavelength of visible light, penetrate into the body mainly through direct contact with blood, i.e. infected blood enters the bloodstream of a healthy person. Less frequent, but possible routes of transmission are sexual intercourse or transmission from an infected mother to child during pregnancy or childbirth. There are data on the possibility of transmission through transfusion of blood or plasma. The virus can cause long-term infection, which over time cause cirrhosis or liver cancer and, ultimately, can lead to liver failure.

Avian influenza

The flu virus is very contagious among people, there are a number of options, but only in exceptional cases it leads to death. Scientists, however, fear that the bird flu virus that emerged in Hong Kong in 1997, and was transferred to unknown person in the future will exchange genetic material with the virus of human flu that will open the way for the creation of a new strain which is resistant to the majority of the population.

HPV – human papillomavirus

The virus is considered the most common sexually transmitted diseases that induce complications from skin lesions to fatal cancer. In many cases, HPV infection is asymptomatic and the body within 24 months due to his own protection in a position to get rid of the virus.

There are two types of HPV. Neochanna cause only benign lesions. The HPV oncogenic type cause pathological changes in the cervix that leads to the formation of precancerous lesions and, unfortunately, contribute to the development of cancer.

Syphilis

We are talking about sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacterium (spirochete) Treponema Treponema. This is a painless rash on the genitals or elsewhere on the body. The rash disappears on its own, but the syphilis bacteria remains in the body. The absence or lack of treatment leads to severe damage to the nervous and cardiovascular systems, pregnant women can harm the fetus.

Syphilis is transmitted through infected blood, sexual contact and kissing.

Initial stage may occur without symptoms, which makes diagnosis of the disease.

Atypical pneumonia (SARS)

The disease is transmitted mainly by droplet infection or close contact with an infected person, thus, by the introduction of the virus into the respiratory system. One in five people infected with the virus, develops acute pneumonia, which often leads to death. In the case of this disease antiviral drugs is helpless. Today there is no therapy for the destruction of the causative agent.

Tuberculosis

The disease is caused by the microorganism Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and spreads droplets. The disease affects the lungs, but can also lead to damage the nervous and lymphatic system, bones and joints. Progress in chemotherapy and improved sanitation have contributed to a significant reduction in cases of disease, especially in developed, civilized countries. Lately, however, the number of people infected with tuberculosis, again tends to increase. At the beginning of the 21st century dramatically increased the variations of the disease, forcing doctors to combine and look for new antibiotics.

West Nile fever

The disease is mainly transmitted by mosquitos. The symptoms are very flu-like. Some people have vomiting, loss of coordination, known cases death. Therapy is still not developed.

Conclusion

Paradoxically, in the 21st century, when transplant surgeons can easily replace almost all of the vital organs, antibodies against most harmful viruses is still unknown! Deadly viruses come, accompany generation, sometimes cause epidemics or pandemics. The threat of the mutated virus at any time can cause a global catastrophe.