Serious Disease with little awareness- Melioidosis

An old disease that present almost exclusively in tropical area such as South East Asia region has long been known with little awareness especially in countries where little can be done to growth the bug. It's known as a serious disease with high mortality rate once it get into your blood and cause systemic symptoms, Melioidosis, caused by a fancy named bug Burkholderia Pseudomalei. It is primarily found in soil and water of such area.

How dose the bug get into your body?
Humans get the infection by inhalation of contaminated dust or water droplets, ingestion of contaminated water, and contact with contaminated soil, especially through wounds on the skin.
Human to human transmission is very rare, and only a few cases have reported.

Where will it go in your body?
Once the bug gets into your body, it can affect almost every organ systems. However, mortality and morbidity varies between organs involved. The highest mortality rate occurs with systemic involvement such as sepsis (the bug is circulating in your blood) while local infection such as infection of your salivary gland without systemic involvement caused low mortality.

Signs and Symptoms:
Depending on where the infection is on your body, the clinical manifestations can be:

Fever
Swelling and pain
Abscess or ulceration
Cough and dyspnea
Headache
Anorexia
Lethargy

Comments

Stray dog bite: Rabies

Stray dogs are very common in some parts of the world especially in the developing countries. Not all the stray dogs are dangerous, however, it is always be safe to be away from them. One of the reasons is that, you never know whether the dog is sick or not. Dog bite is hurt, of course, but it can be life danger if the dog that bite you is infected with rabies virus. Rabid dogs carry the virus inside their saliva and can transmit to you when you got bitten or even scratch ( the dogs lick their foot very frequent and the virus can stay on their foot and transmit via scratching). Fortunately, post exposure prophylaxis vaccination is very effective to prevent rabies and it is widely available. Here are some steps to do after dog bite: Clean the wound immediately with clean water and soap Do not try to apply any herbal medicine (a lot of belief do that) as it can cause the wound to be infected Go to the nearest health facilities and discuss about possibility of vaccination aga...

Acute Diarrhea

Acute diarrhea is the second leading cause of death in children under five. The majority of deaths occur in developing countries where resources are limited. Even though, the disease is easy to be treated and prevented, lack of clean water, poor hygiene in the under-developed world make it difficult to reduce the mortality and morbidity. Most cases of acute diarrhea are caused by virus which is usually self-limited. However, some cases antibiotic is needed especially when the child is passing stool with mucus or blood. Major complications of acute diarrhea are: Dehydration Electrolytes imbalance Failure to recognize and treat these two complications properly, mortality rate is high. On the other hand, promptly correct dehydration and electrolytes imbalance, death is uncommon. Children who can tolerate with oral re-hydration, can be safely treated at home but need to be re-evaluate by doctor if diarrhea persist. WHO recommend ORS solution as a standard fluid for health care ...

HOW TO RECOGNIZE BIRD (AVIAN) FLU

You may have been infected with bird flu if you have these symptoms after contacting with infected birds or person: High fever, usually with temperature higher than 38 degree Diarrhea, vomiting Abdominal pain, chest pain Or even bleeding from nose and gum Breathing difficulty, hoarse voice. If you have these symptoms, seek medical help as soon as possible.

When You Stay Far From Doctor

Search This Blog