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.