Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by the obligate intracellular parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii.1 It is estimated to be the leading cause of food-related deaths in the United States and it infects up to a third of the worldwide population. Incidence is highest in areas that are hot, humid and at a low elevation, all of which are characteristic of the southwestern US where the case patient, S.C., is from. 2,3 Cats are the common culprit as they become definitive hosts of the parasite after they eat infected prey such as birds, rodents, and various small animals. The life of Toxoplasma persists as it is passed on through cat feces carrying as much as 100 million parasites every day and for as long as 21 days after infection.1,2 It undergoes several life cycles beginning with shedding of the oocysts in cat feces which carries the infective sporozoites that are ultimately converted into tachyzoites capable of disseminating from the small intestine to other organs, most notably in the CNS where it is difficult to find.1,3 There are several routes of transmission: consumption of contaminated water and food (especially undercooked or unfrozen meats), ingestion of cat feces through daily activities such as emptying a litter box, working with contaminated soil, congenital (especially during the third trimester), blood transfusions, or organ transplantation.1 This is of particular concern since S.C. reports having three cats at home which are known hosts to Toxoplasma. Furthermore, he has recently consumed a cougar that was killed on his property adding to his exposure to feline animals. The patient also insists that he only eats fully cooked meats such as the ungulates he hunts for food. However, presence of a cougar in his area could possibly indicate that surrounding animals, including the ungulates that he hunts, may have been exposed to Toxoplasma through feline feces. Thus, it is difficult to dismiss infection of the animals as almost all edible parts of an animal can harbor viable parasites.1
For healthy individuals, infection is self-limiting and typically undiagnosed since clinical presentation of the disease is non-specific, flu-like, or even asymptomatic, which all go away within several weeks. In a previously studied epidemic, only 3 out of 25 toxoplasmosis patients were correctly diagnosed by physicians which shows that differential diagnosis from other diseases that present similarly, such as Listeria, Aspergillus, Nocardia, CNS lymphoma, is challenging. 1,4 It is important to note that even after resolution of symptoms, the parasite can remain in the body in a latent, cystic state.
Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva also known as FOP is a one of the rarest, most disabling genetic bone conditions known to medicine. FOP causes muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues to turn in to bone. Movement becomes limited in the affected areas of the body. People with FOP typically have malformed toes at birth, meaning the big toe is typically shorter than normal and abnormally turned outward in a position called a valgus deviation. Symptoms of FOP start to show up in early childhood. Most people with FOP develop painful tumor-like swellings also known as fibrous nodules. The fibrous nodules are visible on the neck, shoulders, and back.
Bordetella pertussis is a highly communicable agent and is transmitted person-to-person via airborne droplets or direct contact with discharges from the respiratory mucous membranes of an infected person. This small, gram-negative coccobacillus is non-motile, aerobic and fastidious. B. pertussis colonizes the respiratory tract including the mouth, nose, throat and beginning of the lungs of young children worldwide. The bacteria bind to ciliated cells in the respiratory mucosa by producing adhesions. Filamentous hemagglutinin on the cell surface and pertussis toxin (Ptx) both help the bacteria in binding. Filamentous hemagglutinin binds to the galactose residues on the glycolipid of the ciliated cells. Ptx, in its cell-bound form, binds to the glycolipid lactosylceramide, which is also found on the ciliated cells. Ptx binds to the surface of phagocytes as well, causing phagocytosis of the bacteria. This mechanism may lead to enhanced survival as an intracellular parasite. Adding to its many purposes, Ptx deregulates the host cell adenylate cyclase activity. The A subunit of this AB toxin, affects the G protein responsible for inhibiting adenylate cyclase. This leads to an increase in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) creating detrimental metabolic changes in the host cells.
ACHONDROPLASIA is known as being undersized, or less than 50in. in height. Having short limbs, a normal sized trunk, large head with a depressed nasal bridge and small face. This is a result of a disease in the thyroid gland. It can also be caused by Down syndrome or absorption, a cartilaginous tissue during the fetal stage. Hypochondroplasia, a mild form of dwarfism. Spinal tuberculosis and the deficiency of the pituitary gland secretions. Treatment with thyroxin or thyroid extract early in childhood results in normal growth and development. Somatrophin, also known as the human growth hormone is secreted by the anterior pituitary. Respiratory problems start to occur in infants. Symptoms of problems include snoring and sleeping with neck in a hyperextended condition. The limbs have rhizometic shortening. The legs are straight in infantry but when a child. He begins walking they develop a knock-knee position. When the child continues to walk legs begin to have a bowed-leg look. Occasionally, these curvatures are fixed. As the child continues to walk the kyphosis disappears and the back assumes a lordotic posture. If a delay in child’s walking occurs, the spine should be monitored closely for signs of gibbous formation. In infancy, hypercephalus can occur. Infants head circumference should be monitored close . Monthly checks of head circumference must be monitored. Radiologic studies are indicated if head circumference raises to disproportionately, or if symptoms of hydrocephalus. Child’s pediatrician should have a copy of head circumference curves for children with achondroplasia. Radiologic procedures for dwarfism include head ultrasound, C-T scan, or MRI of the head. If intervention is necessary, a ventriculoperitoneal shunt is placed relieving the pressure. Infants should also be monitored for foramen magnum compression. It is the opening at the base of the skull in which the brain stem and cervical spinal cord exit. When you have achondroplasia the foramen magnum is compressing the brain stem and spinal cord. Symptoms of narrowing include apnea the cessation of breathing and cervical myleopathy. C-T scans and MRI scans are done to examine the size of the infectious foramen magnum. A neurosurgical procedure called a foramen magnum decompression is executed to alarge foramen and alleviate further symptoms. Adolescents are at risk of getting lumbosacral spinal stenosis. The lumber spinal cord or nerve roots become compressed producing nerosurgical symptoms. Initial symptoms including weakness, tingling, and pain of the legs. Pain usually alleviated by assuming a squatting position.
It was a normal evening in the Maloney home. Mrs. Mary Maloney sat sewing, while waiting for her husband to return home after an involved day as a police officer. Around 5 o’clock Mr. Maloney returns home with shocking news and… Bang! …a leg of lamb hit over his head and Mr. Maloney falls to the ground dead. All evidence and theories, point to Mrs. Maloney being the killer of her husband, but why? Mrs. Maloney did not kill her husband out of anger after the recent marriage incident, but she did it as a result of mental anguish, self defense and trauma inflicted upon her by her husband. All these events explain exactly why Mrs. Maloney murdered her husband out of reasonable measures.
182 people became infected, and 29 died (most of which were older men or cigarette smokers). Although this organism was named in the 70’s, retrospective studies have shown cases since 1943. GRAPH Diseases: L. pneumophila has a very wide range of effects. Healthy individuals usually go through an asymptomatic seroconversion, while less healthy people may undergo Pontiac Fever or Legionnaires’ Disease (LD). In 1968, employees at the county health department in Pontiac, Michigan came down with a fever, but the responsible pathogen was not identified at the time.
Necrotizing Fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria ) from an essay by Katrina Tram Duong, edited by S.N. Carson M.D.
Sherding, Robert G. The Cat Diseases and Clinical Management. 2nd Edition. Vol. 1. 1994. p 30-31, 233.
This disease may be on the brink of being eradicated entirely but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the grossest things that anyone has ever seen. The parasite enters the body via unsafe drinking water. When people drink water infected with water fleas that have have been hosting the larvae of the parasite. There are no symptoms, to begin with, but about one year later, blisters on the feet or legs begin to develop and then the adult fully developed worm crawls out of the host body over a period of a few weeks. It’s said that the pain is intense and can incapacitate a person for weeks at a time. The pain can also continue for months after the infection. The parasite needs to infect a person at least once a year in order to continue. There were an estimated 3.5 million cases in 1986 but the disease has been greatly reduced over time and only 22 cases were reported in 2015. This disease will probably be the first parasitic disease to be completely eradicated in humans.
Although the Columbian Exchange allowed for the beneficial exchange of cultures, ideas, foods, and animals around the world during the 1450-1750 time period, it also had a dark side. One detrimental result of the Columbian Exchange would be the spreading of smallpox from Europe to the New World.
"Bloodborne Pathogens : MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.
Exotic animals carry diseases and infections that can be potentially harmful or fatal to humans, jeopardizing the safety of the community. These diseases range in severity from common ringworm infections from African pygmy hedgehogs to lyssaviruses in p...
Common animals that carry these diseases are rats, prairie dogs, and parrots (“Exotic Animals as Pets”). According to Live Science, a science news website, researchers have found that 13 zoonoses, which are diseases transmitted from animals, cause approximately 2.2 million human deaths per year. "From cyst-causing tapeworms to avian flu, zoonoses present a major threat to human and animal health," lead researcher Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist. According to researchers, about 60% of all human diseases are zoonotic, meaning they come from animals. Most zoonotic human diseases come from livestock, such as pigs, chickens, cattle, goats, sheep, and camels (Bryner). If humans would not come into close contacts with animals there would not be as many diseases in the world which would result in less human and animal deaths. According to WebMD, an American corporation that provides health news, advice, and expertise, a very common zoonotic disease in the world today is influenza, also known as the flu. Influenza usually comes from ducks, geese, or pigs and then it spreads to chicken and pigs. Leptospirosis is another example of a human infection that comes from animals. Leptospirosis is caused by contact with water, food, or soil that has been contaminated with urine from infected animals. This infection can lead to liver failure, kidney damage, brain and spinal cord infection, and rarely, death
Cyclothymic disorder, also known as cyclothymia, is a relatively mild form of bipolar II disorder characterized by mood swings that may appear to be almost within the normal range of emotions. These mood swings range from mild depression, or dysthymia, to mania of low intensity, or hypomania. It is possible for cyclothymia to go undiagnosed, and for individuals with the disorder to be unaware that they have a treatable disease. Individuals with cyclothymia may experience episodes of low-level depression, known as dysthymia; periods of intense energy, creativity, and/or irritability, known as hypomania; or they may alternate between both mood states. Like other bipolar disorders, cyclothymia is a chronic illness characterized by mood swings that can occur as often as every day and last for several days, weeks, months, or as long as two years. Individuals with this disorder are never free of symptoms of either hypomania or mild depression for more than two months at a time (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders).
8. Leroy, P, Smismans, A, and Seute, T (2006). Invasive pulmonary and central nervous system aspergillosis after near-drowning of a child: case report and review of literature. Pediatrics;118(2):509-513.
Why is it not possible nowadays to diagnose malaria with a set of signs and symptoms?The patient has been coughing for the last two weeks, lost 5 kilograms in weight, and whenever he coughs, very thick sputum in produced. Furthermore, the patient has been having chest pains, fever, sweating especially at night and loss of appetite (Harries, Maher, & Graham, 2004, p. 50). The sputum that is produced on coughing is not thick and is yellow in color (Warrell, Cox, & Firth, 2005, p. 560).