Dengue Fever And Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Case Study

A disease can be defined as any form of condition that prohibits an organism from functioning effectively in its surroundings. Diseases can either be caused through pathogens, classing it as an infectious disease, or through a genetic, nutritional, environment or physiological malfunction which would place it in the category of a non-infectious disease. Our first and foremost important system of protection against these diseases is our immune system, an example of the way this response works can be established and analysed when Dengue Fever and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease are examined closely.

Dengue Fever

This disease may appear to hold minor implications at first glance but it can potentially turn into a life threatening disease for

This can result in the failure of the circulatory system and therefore becomes very fatal. If there is a substantial amount of plasma leakage from the blood vessels hypertension can persist, causing systolic blood pressure to decrease that turns this viral infection into a case of irreversible shock and the possibility of death sequentially taking place as a result (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). As the rate of leakage of plasma decreases the body enters the convalescent stage and the wellbeing of the individual increases. It allows for the stabilization of the body, counteracting any problems causing by the virus like stabilizing the white cell and platelet counts (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (eg. Ibuprofen) have been reported to worsen the symptoms of haemorrhages sometimes caused by Dengue fever, so it is advised that the infected steer clear of these forms of pain relief (emedicinehealth, 2014). The immune system plays a vast roll and the fever usually passes within a week or so, however, if it transpires into a severe form of Dengue Fever additional treatment methods will be required. Once the onset of this shock phase has been reached they may require hospitalization for blood and platelet transfusions, Blood pressure support and also IV hydration if dehydration is present in the patient (emedicinehealth, 2014). The prognosis for those with the virus is generally quite good and their symptoms will fade within one to two weeks, but those who develop DHF may receive a different outcome. Those who have had one strand of the virus before can still develop the other three strands if infected, making it more likely for those individuals to develop DHF (emedicinehealth, 2014). The fatality rate of Dengue Fever as a whole is around one percent, but for those who develop DHF it can become three percent if the before mentioned medical support is given and a substantial fifty per cent without the necessary support