The Top Infectious Diseases That Kill People
Do You Know What Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Measures Can Protect You?
Infectious diseases are THE leading cause of death in children and one of the leading causes of death in adults, according to the Center for Strategic International Studies. Infectious diseases come from microscopic organisms like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that are passed from one person to another. In humans, the primary microbes that cause disease are bacteria and viruses.
Many bacteria can be killed with antibiotics and antibacterial cleaning agents. Hence, the diseases these bacteria cause can be cured. Increasingly, however, bacteria have become more lethal because they are developing resistance to antibiotics, like the infamous MRSA bacteria. Resistance comes from the overuse of antibiotics and antibacterial cleaning agents, which are the direct causes of “superbugs” like the dangerous MRSA bacteria. Examples of infectious diseases caused by bacteria are tuberculosis and some diarrheal diseases. Viruses have no cure. Examples of infectious diseases caused by viruses are:
- HIV / AIDS
- The Influenza Virus
- Ebola Virus
- Smallpox
- Various Diarrheal Diseases
What are the Top Infectious Diseases?
The most common infectious disease in the world is hepatitis B, which is an inflammation of the liver that leads to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Its symptoms include jaundice, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Over 2 billion people worldwide are infected with this virus, which is incurable.
The top infectious diseases ranked by annual deaths are:
- Respiratory infections
- Malaria
- HIV/AIDS
- Tuberculosis
- Diarrheal diseases such as: Escherichia coli (e coli), Listeria, and Cholera
Why should you be concerned with top infectious diseases that exist primarily on other continents? Because they are only a plane trip away from where you live. Remember that the HIV / AIDS virus, the 6th leading cause of death in the WORLD, once existed only in sub-Saharan Africa. The H1N1 influenza virus was rapidly carried around the world faster than any virus in history through air travel.
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, influenza kills over 36,000 people in the United States alone and hospitalizes at least 200,000. One of the things that makes influenza so dangerous and difficult to control is its notorious ability to change its genetic configuration. It morphs, in other words, into a whole new kind of influenza against which the human immune system is unable to defend itself, leaving scientists scrambling to find a way to combat the virus. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), severe and often fatal respiratory infections caused by viruses, arose in China and Saudi Arabia respectively and traveled rapidly around the world, including to the United States. The Ebola virus was relatively unknown and limited to small groups of people in West Africa until 2014 when the world experienced the worst and largest outbreak of Ebola ever recorded. Ebola infected tens of thousands of people worldwide.
How Are These Top Infectious Diseases Spread?
- Direct contact of an uninfected person with bacteria or viruses present in the body fluids of an infected person, especially when the bacteria or virus comes in contact with the mucous membranes or skin abrasion of the uninfected person.
- Direct contact with an infected animal through a bite or scratch or with infected animal waste.
- Indirect contact with bacteria or viruses on surfaces of inanimate objects like table tops and door knobs. Microorganisms can survive on surfaces anywhere from a few minutes to a few months.
- Ingestion of contaminated food or water.
- Inhaling airborne bacteria and viruses.
- Insect bites from insects like mosquitos, ticks, and fleas. This is how Malaria, Dengue Fever, Lyme Disease, West Nile virus, and Chikungunya, a virus that has only recently been reported to be locally acquired in the United States, are spread.
Symptoms of the Top Infectious Diseases
Each disease has its own unique symptoms, but most infectious diseases include the following:
- Fever
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Muscle aches
Practicing Good Infectious Disease Prevention and Control
Because viruses are incurable and bacteria is becoming increasingly resistant to antimicrobial treatments, the most effective thing you can do is to practice good infectious disease prevention and control to stop the disease before it has a chance to spread. How effective these measures are depends on how rigorously and carefully they are practiced.
- The best and most recommended infectious disease prevention and control measure is hand washing. The World Health Organization and the CDC both recommend frequent hand-washing as one of the most effective infectious disease prevention and control measures you can take.
- Use soap and make water as hot as you can stand it.
- Wash for at least 20 seconds.
- Dry with a clean, unused paper towel and discard the towel.
- Keep your hands away from mucous membranes like your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Handle food safely.
- Thoroughly wash and cook food.
- Sanitize preparation surfaces thoroughly before and after contact with food.
- Refrigerate leftovers immediately.
- Get vaccinated.
- Use antibiotics responsibly.
- They don’t cure viruses. Never ask for them or accept them for a virus.
- Always finish the prescribed dosage.
- Never take an antibiotic prescribed for someone else or prescribed for another condition.
- Limit your contact with others if you display symptoms of an infectious disease.
- Cover coughs and sneezes.
- Never share items like toothbrushes, combs, razors, drinking glasses, and eating utensils.
- When you travel, make sure you get any vaccinations specific for the region to which you are traveling.
