Ebola virus diseaseCause

EVD in humans is caused by four of five viruses of the genus Ebolavirus. The four

are Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), Sudan virus (SUDV), Taï Forest virus (TAFV) and one simply

called Ebola virus (EBOV, formerly Zaire Ebola virus).[26] EBOV, species Zaire ebolavirus, is the

most dangerous of the known EVD-causing viruses, and is responsible for the largest number of

outbreaks.[27] The fifth virus, Reston virus (RESTV), is not thought to cause disease in humans,

but has caused disease in other primates.[28][29] All five viruses are closely related

to marburgviruses

Precautions

People who care for those infected with Ebola should wear protective clothing including masks,

gloves, gowns and goggles.[88] The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend that the

protective gear leaves no skin exposed.[89] These measures are also recommended for those who

may handle objects contaminated by an infected person's body fluids.[90] In 2014, the CDC began

recommending that medical personnel receive training on the proper suit-up and removal

of personal protective equipment (PPE); in addition, a designated person, appropriately trained in

biosafety, should be watching each step of these procedures to ensure they are done correctly.[89] In Sierra Leone, the typical training period for the use of such safety equipment lasts

approximately 12 days.[91]

RabiesCauses

An infected animal has the rabies virus in its saliva and can transmit it to a person through biting.

In rarer cases, an animal can spread the virus when its saliva comes in contact with a person's

mucous membranes (moist skin surfaces, like the mouth or inner eyelids) or broken skin such as a

cut, scratch, bruise, or open wound.

After a bite, the rabies virus can spread into surrounding muscle, then travel up nearby nerves to

the brain. Once the virus reaches the brain, the infection is fatal in almost all cases.

Prevention

If you suspect that your child has been bitten by a rabid animal, go to the emergency department immediately. Any animal bites — even those that don't involve rabies — can lead to infections and other medical problems. As a precaution, call your doctor any time your child has been bitten.

As rabies is a fatal disease, it is often best to start the series of shots until further information is

available.

A series of injections is given. The first is a rabies immune globulin that helps to prevent the virus

from infecting the individual. Part of thisimmunization is given near the animal bite.

TuberculosisThe main cause of TB is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a small, aerobic, nonmotile bacillus.[11] The high lipid content of this pathogen accounts for many of its unique clinical characteristics.[21] It divides every 16 to 20 hours, which is an extremely slow rate compared with other bacteria, which usually divide in less than an hour.[22] Mycobacteria have an outer membranelipid bilayer.[23] If a Gram stain is performed, MTB either stains very weakly "Gram-positive" or does not retain dye as a result of the high lipid and mycolic acid content of its cell wall.[24] MTB can withstand weak disinfectants and survive in a dry statefor weeks. In nature, the bacterium can grow only within the cells of a host organism, but M. tuberculosis can be cultured in the laboratory.

Precautions

Tuberculosis prevention and control efforts primarily rely on the vaccination of infants and the

detection and appropriate treatment of active cases.[9] The World Health Organization has

achieved some success with improved treatment regimens, and a small decrease in case

numbers.[9]

The only available vaccine as of 2011 is bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG).[71] In children it

decreases the risk of getting the infection by 20% and the risk of infection turning into disease by

nearly 60%.[72]

It is the most widely used vaccine worldwide, with more than 90% of all children

being vaccinated.[9] The immunity it induces decreases after about ten years.[9] As tuberculosis is

uncommon in most of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, BCG is administered

to only those people at high risk.[73][74][75] Part of the reasoning arguing against the use of the

vaccine is that it makes the tuberculin skin test falsely positive, so is of no use in screening.[75] A

number of new vaccines are currently in development

HantavirusHPS (HCPS) is a "rare respiratory illness associated with the inhalation of aerosolized rodent

excreta (urine and feces) contaminated by hantavirus particles."[1]

Human infections of hantaviruses have almost entirely been linked to human contact with rodent

excrement, but recent human-to-human transmission has been reported with the Andes virus in

South America

Precautions

There is no known antiviral treatment, but natural recovery from the virus is possible with

supportive treatment. Patients with suspected hantavirus are usually admitted to the hospital and

given oxygen and mechanical ventilation support to help them breathe during the acute

pulmonary stage.[15] As the virus can be transmitted by rodent saliva, excretia, and bites, control

of rats and mice in areas frequented by humans is key for disease prevention. General

prevention can be accomplished by disposing of rodent nests, sealing any cracks and holes in

homes where mice or rats could get in, setting up traps, laying down poisons or using natural

predators such as cats in the home.[15]

Leptospirosis causes similar symptoms and is also carried by rodent vectors, but it is due to a

bacterial spirochete rather than a virus. Presumptive treatment of leptospirosis

with penicillin (and other) antibiotics is often started for severe symptoms when a diagnostic

dilemma between the two diseases is encountered.

PertussisPertussis is caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. It is an airborne disease which spreads easily through the coughs and sneezes of an infected person.[6] People are infectious to others from the start of symptoms until about three weeks into the coughing fits. Those treated with antibiotics are no longer infectious after five days.[7] Diagnosis is by collecting a sample from the back of the nose and throat. This sample can then be tested by either culture or bypolymerase chain reaction

Precautions

The primary method of prevention for pertussis is vaccination. There is insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of antibiotics in those who have been exposed but are without symptoms.[18] Preventative antibiotics, however, are still frequently used in those who have been exposed and are at high risk of severe disease (such as infants)

Pertussis vaccines are effective[19] and are recommended for routine use by the World Health

Organization [20]  and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.[21]The vaccine saved over an

estimated half a million lives in 2002.[20]

The multi-component acellular pertussis vaccine is 71–85% effective with greater effectiveness

for more severe strains.[19] Despite widespread vaccination, however, pertussis has persisted in

vaccinated populations and is today "one of the most common vaccine-preventable diseases in

Western countries".[22] The twenty-first century resurgences in pertussis infections are attributed

to a combination of waning immunity and bacterial mutations that elude vaccines.