List of infectious diseases....
The various causes of common infectious diseases are bacteria, fungus, parasites, prions and viruses.
Bacterial infectious diseases:
- Anthrax : multiplication of Bacillus anthracis in the body.
- Bacterial meningitis : inflammation of the protective membranes of the central nervous system.
- Botulism : blockage of nerve function and respiratory as well as musculoskeletal paralysis.
- Brucellosis : entrance of Brucella bacteria by direct contact or untreated/contaminated milk of animals.
- Campylobacteriosis : an inflammatory and at times bloody diarrhea or dysentery.
- Cat scratch disease : after 7 to 14 days or 2 months after a cat scratch, tender regional lymphadenopathy, slight fever, headache, chills, malaise, abdominal pain, backache, convulsions or sterile suppurative papules at the site of inoculation occur.
- Cholera : transmission of Vibrio cholerae by ingestion of contaminated food or water causes diarrheal disease.
- Diphtheria : upper respiratory tract illness having sore throat, low-grade fever and an adherent layer on the tonsils, nasal cavity, pharynx.
- Epidemic Typhus : caused by louse-borne bacteria.
- Gonorrhea : common sexually transmitted disease caused by Neisseria gonorrheae.
- Impetigo : superficial skin infection common in the age group of 2 to 6.
- Legionellosis : pneumonia or mild respiratory illness like acute influenza.
- Leprosy (Hansen's disease) : granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract.
- Leptospirosis : biphasic disease with meningitis, liver damage and renal failure.
- Listeriosis : occurs in newborn infants, elderly people and immunocompromised patients.
- Lyme disease : rash and flu symptoms followed by musculoskeletal, psychiatric, neurologic, arthritic and cardiac manifestations.
- Melioidosis : caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, which is found in soil and water.
- MRSA infection : characterized by quick weight loss and muscle depletion.
- Nocardiosis : Nocardia asteroides or Nocardia brasiliensis affects either the lungs or the entire body.
- Pertussis (Whooping cough) : severe hacking cough followed by high intake of breath.
- Plague : occurs when person is bitten by an infected flea.
- Pneumococcal pneumonia : illness of the lungs and respiratory system where the alveoli are inflammed and filled with fluid.
- Psittacosis : contracted from parrots, pigeons, hens, ducks, sparrows and sea gulls.
- Q fever : due to inhalation of contaminated particles in the air or contact with the vaginal mucus, milk, feces, semen, urine of infected animals.
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever : most severe rickettsial illness in the United States.
- Salmonellosis : causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever and foodborne illness.
- Scarlet fever : infection may occur through bloodstream or skin and underlying tissues.
- Shigellosis : dysentery due to poor hygiene.
- Syphilis : sexually transmitted disease due to sexual contact or congenital mode.
- Tetanus : prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers.
- Trachoma : infectious disease of human eye probably leading to blindness.
- Tuberculosis : generally attacks the lungs but may affect central nervous system, circulatory system, lymphatic system, bones, joints, genitourinary system and skin.
- Tularemia : heachache, fatigue, muscle pains, dizziness, nausea, loss of appetite, inflammation of face and eyes and lymph nodes.
- Typhoid fever : due to ingestion of food or water adulterated with feces of an infected person.
- Typhus : severe headache, sustained high fever, severe muscle pain, rash, cough, chills, stupor, decreasing blood pressure, delirium characterize it.
- Urinary tract infections : cystitis or pyelonephritis.
Fungal infectious diseases:
- Aspergillosis : allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis or pulmonary aspergilloma or invasive aspergillosis.
- Blastomycosis : inhalation of fungus from the natural soil habitat.
- Candidiasis : found in exposed and moist parts of the body like the vagina, vulva, penis, foreskin, skin around nostrils, nostrils, ear, oral cavity, nipples, folds of skin in diaper area.
- Coccidioidomycosis : caused by inhalation of airborne, fungal particles called arthroconidia.
- Cryptococcosis : caused by inhalation of soil contaminated with the encapsulated yeast.
- Histoplasmosis : primarily affects the lungs.
- Tinea pedis : affects the epidermis of the foot.
Parasitic infections diseases:
- African trypanosomiasis : transmitted by the tsetse fly. Symptoms are fever, headaches and joint pains.
- Amebiasis : due to ingestion of water or food contaminated with amoebic cysts.
- Ascariasis : due to ingestion of food contaminated with fecal matter containing Ascaris eggs.
- Babesiosis : generally transmitted by ticks.
- Chagas disease : transmitted to humans by blood-sucking assassin bugs.
- Clonorchiasis : caused by the Chinese liver fluke.
- Cryptosporidiosis : caused by contaminated material like earth, water, uncooked or cross-contaminated food in contact with the feces of an infected person or animal.
- Cysticercosis : caused by larvae of tapeworm, generally found in pork.
- Diphyllobothriasis : characterized by abdominal discomfort, vomiting, weight loss and diarrhea.
- Dracunculiasis : caused by drinking water containing infected copepods.
- Echinococcosis : fatal disease due to infection by tapeworm larvae.
- Enterobiasis : infection due to pinworms leading to poor appetite, restless sleep and itching of the anus.
- Fascioliasis : caused by Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica.
- Fasciolopsiasis : caused when aquatic plants are eaten raw and water drunk unheated.
- Filariasis : transmitted by mosquitoes or deer fly.
- Free-living amebic infection : caused by Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba found in lakes, tap water, swimming pools and air conditioning units.
- Giardiasis : starts in the small intestine.
- Gnathostomiasis : due to migrating immature worms.
- Hymenolepiasis : caused by Hymenolepis nana or Hymenolepis diminuta.
- Isosporiasis : symptoms are diarrhea and weight loss. Sometimes linked with AIDS.
- Leishmaniasis : transmitted by certain varieties of sand fly.
- Malaria : transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes.
- Metagonimiasis : symptoms are diarrhea and colicky abdominal pain.
- Myiasis : caused by fly larvae feeding on the host's necrotic or living tissue.
- Onchocerciasis : the second leading infectious cause of blindness.
- Pediculosis : infestation of lice on the human body.
- Scabies : characterized by superficial burrows, secondary infection and intense itching.
- Schistosomiasis : due to infection of the blood with schistosome leading to weakness, liver and intestinal damage.
- Taeniasis : infection involving pork and beef tapeworms.
- Toxocariasis : caused by ingestion of dog or cat roundworm.
- Toxoplasmosis : due to ingestion of raw or partly cooked meat, contaminated cat feces, drinking water containing Toxoplasma, transplacental infection in utero or infected organ transplant or blood transfusion.
- Trichinellosis : caused by eating raw or undercooked pork and wild game products infected with the larvae of a species of roundworm.
- Trichuriasis : infection of the large intestine by a parasite whipworm.
- Trichomoniasis : sexually transmitted disease that infects the genitourinary tract.
- Trypanosomiasis : caused by parasitic protozoan trypanosomes of the genus Trypanosoma.
Prion infectious diseases:
- Alpers syndrome : a progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system.
- Bovine spongiform encephalopathy : a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of cattle that is transmitted to human beings who eat infected carcasses.
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease : rare and incurable degenerative neurological disorder (brain disease).
- Fatal familial insomnia : rare autosomal dominant inherited brain disease, that is fatal.
- Kuru : characterized by headaches, joint pains and shaking of the limbs. Affects the brain and is fatal.
- Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy : a group of progressive conditions that affect the brain and nervous systems.
Viral infections diseases:
- AIDS : specific damage to the immune system caused by human immunodeficiency virus.
- AIDS related complex : individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors.
- Chickenpox (Varicella) : caused by varicella-zoster virus and spots appear mainly on the body and head.
- Common cold : disease of the upper respiratory system. Also called acute viral nasopharyngitis.
- Cytomegalovirus infection : generally concerning salivary glands, though may be found anywhere in the body.
- Colorado tick fever : transmitted from the bite of an infected wood tick.
- Dengue fever : transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito.
- Ebola haemorrhagic fever : symptoms are diarrhea, internal and external bleeding, fever, general body pain and vomiting.
- Hand, foot and mouth disease : common cause is Coxsackie A virus and usually affects infants and children.
- Hepatitis : characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue.
- Herpes simplex : symptoms are itching, swelling, emission of fluid from swelling, headache, fatigue, overall gloomy mental state.
- Herpes zoster : affects the nervous system with or without appearance of a rash on the skin.
- HPV : DNA-based viruses that infect the skin and mucous membranes.
- Influenza (Flu) : symptoms are sore throat, fever, headache, muscle pains, weakness, coughing and discomfort.
- Lassa fever : initially mucosa, intestine, lungs, urinary systems are affected, then vascular system and then every tissue in the body.
- Measles : is spread through respiration and is highly contagious.
- Marburg haemorrhagic fever : spread though bodily fluids like saliva, vomit, blood and excrement.
- Infectious mononucleosis : common in adolescents and young adults, characterized by fever, muscle soreness, sore throat, fatigue.
- Mumps : characterized by painful swelling of the salivary glands and fever. Painful testicular swelling and rash may also occur.
- Poliomyelitis : spread from one person to other via the fecal-oral route eg. poor hand washing.
- Progressive multifocal leukencephalopathy : occurs exclusively in people with severe immune deficiency.
- Rabies : transmitted through bites, aerosol through mucous membranes, transplant surgery or kisses.
- Rubella : virus enters body via nose or throat.
- SARS : symptoms are fever, lethargy, myalgia, cough, sore throat, gastrointestinal symptoms.
- Smallpox (Variola) : caused by Variola major and Variola minor. May cause characteristic skin scars and occasionally blindness due to corneal ulcerations and infertility in male survivors.
- Viral encephalitis : an acute inflammation of the brain.
- Viral gastroenteritis : inflammation or infection of the gastrointestinal tract, generally of the stomach and intestines.
- Viral meningitis : inflammation of the protective membranes covering the nervous system.
- Viral pneumonia : an illness of the lungs and respiratory system.
- West Nile disease : transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito.
- Yellow fever : important cause of hemorrhagic illness in many African and South American nations.
